Nothing to Arceus: Aftermath
by luffysearchesfor1
Summary: Daniel Barsony, a Pokemon trainer who has risen from his brothers shadow and ultimately become Arceus's next representative, enters a new stage of his life. A year has passed since his departure and everything is different now, from his environment to his responsibilities as a representative. He will learn to survive in this new life while at the same time helping his loved ones.
1. Chapter 1, Unexpected

Authors Note: If you have not read Nothing to Arceus, I advise reading that first because nothing here will make sense otherwise.

"_I promise, I'll come back." stated Daniel Barsony, him and Serena parted from their embrace. Daniel's friend, Andres, informed the teen it was time to go. The boy looked towards Serena, their eyes meeting as he simply nodded in assurance. Daniel, Andres, and Bisharp met together to walk through the portal created by Arceus himself. They all walked through and disappeared from everyone's sight, Serena stood there nearly heart-broken and looking up to the bright sky._

That was a year ago, a whole year had passed since Daniel Barsony ventured with his comrades with the Pokemon God for the betterment of man-kind. He had become world-renowned just like this older brother. The battle between Bisharp and Deoxys would come to be known as one of the most legendary battles in Pokemon Battling history and was later named "The Clash of Titans" cliche, ain't it? The video would end up becoming one of the most popular, if not the most popular video to have popped up in the net since the very first battle. Daniel was therefore declared the new Unbeatable Champion and news articles surrounding his disappearance flooded the net. All of the people he knew refused to provide a valid answer, not wanting anyone to search for him and hunt him down. They were sure he was in good hands and nothing would happen to him.

Daniel's friends had made a promise to him, the promise was for them to achieve all of their dreams like he had. Daniel was living proof that almost anything is possible as long as you put the work in. He had hoped his friends would learn from that and for him to hopefully come back to everyone's success. Unfortunately, shortly after the teen's departure, everyone scattered. Everyone had went their own separate ways and went off to focus on their goals and achievements.

The video being shown displayed the legendary battle, camera only having a good view on Daniel Barsony himself as he let out a powerful shout of determination. He was mimicking his Bisharp due to a "linking sphere" as Arceus put it, and the two partners managed to escape their dicey situation where the camera would show Deoxys being forced higher into the sky and it would therefore switch back to Daniel.

The video or rather the screen was the only source of light within the room, everything else was dark. The light being bright enough to reveal Serena's face. The girl was lying in bed on her side as she held her phone out in front of her watching the video. Her eyes were on her dear friend whom she had a slight crush on. She was amazed by his tenacity and how he held true despite the pain. She continued watching, making it to the very end where all of Daniel's friends had come down to personally congratulate the boy. The camera was zoomed in to show Daniel embraced by Serena in his weak and nimble state after the fight. The sight of this triggered a flashback for her, she remembered what happened next and his departure shortly after the video ended. The last time she saw him, the visual of him turning his back to look at her one last time with a warm smile made her heart ache.

Her vision became blurry as her eyes were obscured by the tears she tried to hold back but she eventually had to let it out. Silently sobbing and staining her pillow, eventually falling asleep in bed.

It was pouring in the Kanto region, the sky was pitch black and the raindrops were loud. It sounded like an army was rapidly marching on the ceiling. Inside the current house, the lights were still on in the living room. Samuel Barsony closed up the last box, brushing his arm across his head to wipe off the sweat and he made a "phew" sound. He looked around and gazed upon his work, boxes, nothing but boxes surrounding him. His work was done for now, the fun part will be unpacking in their new house. Samuel placed his hands on his hips, looking down in thought and realizing Daniel won't have a clue that they moved/are moving. He was deciding whether he should leave a note but the probability it would stay there is low. Well, Daniel could always ask a neighbor and he's sure they can give him an answer. He liked that idea, he trusted his neighbors so it should be no problem.

Samuel felt like it was time to take a break and sleep for tomorrow because it's going to be hell. He lazily walked towards the couch and just as he collapsed on it, he heard knocking coming from the door. This made his eyes widen, one: why would anyone be knocking on the door this late? Two: he just got comfortable, come on. The man angrily got off and trudged towards the door and looked through the peep-hole to see if he could see the individual. It was too dark to see, this caused him to worry and he mentally prepared himself for something ugly. He slowly opened the door and was surprisingly not met with hostility but some boy slouching on the door frame.

"Hey br-" The boy fell through the frame and collapsed inside, this left Samuel flabbergasted at what just transpired. The boy was lying on his front side, the only identifiable features was black hair, a very familiar brown coat and torn up and beaten shorts. He furrowed his brows, dragging the body inside and closing the door so the rain doesn't get in. He flipped the body over and inspected the rest, the boy had a scar on his left cheek and he got a better view of the jacket. He soon realized who this was based off the scar and jacket, this made his eyes shoot open as he cursed to himself. He lifted the boy up and brought him to the couch, trying his best to wake the boy up. Luckily, he was woken up and was greeted with an uncomfortably bright ceiling light.

The boy complained about the light, struggling to use his arms to shield his eyes and he groaned as a result. Samuel, now knelt down in front of the couch called out, "Dude, is that you?"

"Yup…" Daniel confirmed, he sounded tired but Samuel noticed his voice had gotten slightly deeper than last time which caught him off-guard. Regardless, he smiled, relieved this brother was safe and home for that matter. "What happened? Did you get hurt?"

"I'm sore… and wet… not the Zach wet… like… wet wet… y'know…?" Daniel responded, earning a light chuckle out of his older sibling.

"Wait, so did you complete your tr-" Daniel was already fast asleep, snoring loudly with his arm over his eyes. The older man shook his head, laughing to himself as he looked his brother up and down. He noticed a strange object was stowed away in one of the jacket pockets, he reached to take a look and surprisingly enough, it was the Arceus Stone but only half of it. This made Samuel question where the other half was. He'll find out later, for now, it was time to sleep.

After they both had woken up, Daniel needed to get patched up. The boy was dirty and filthy and needed a shower quick. So Daniel did, Samuel then discovered that aside from the boy's pants being torn up, his shirt was practically destroyed with only half of it left. The only thing undamaged was their fathers jacket which was dry now. After Daniel was clean, he had his hair trimmed slightly due to how long and spiky it had become.

With all of that taken care of now, Daniel was completely refreshed with new clothes and a new look. Opposed to before, the boy had a noticeable scar on his left cheek, His long and black spiky hair was shorter than last time but significantly messier. His bangs pointed in opposite directions instead of the right. He wore his father's jacket unzipped revealing his black tank-top underneath. He wore straight dark-grey pants and brown shoes. One thing Samuel noticed was that the boy had bulked up and his muscles were noticeable upon first glance. His facial expression, although not too drastic was more sharp and focused, his eyes not as wide with youth as they used to be.

Daniel was also informed of their moving, apparently, they were moving to a new house in Kalos and he wanted to surprise him with it. Daniel was eager to see their new house and bid his farewell with their old one. Their stuff was packed and shipped off and soon, they would leave themselves. They boarded a plane and set off towards Kalos. On the trip there, Samuel explained to Daniel what had transpired, from the surprise Team Flare Attack which occurred shortly after Daniel's departure to everyone scattering. He reported that no one has fully achieved their dream yet but they're still working on it which worked just fine for the Representative of Creation. He looked out the window to watch the scenery and took in the fact he was back and it certainly felt good. As Daniel gazed off into the distance, Samuel watched his sibling and the vibe his brother gave off was different, he looked and felt confident. Though he might look relaxed on the outside, he was on guard, prepared for anything. This caused Samuel to question the type of training Daniel had to undergo to change this much.

It wasn't long until they had arrived in Kalos and exiting the plane, it was bright and sunny in the Kalos region. Fortunately, no one recognized Daniel except for the employees at the airport when they had to check Daniel's identification and were shocked to see the boy. They promised to keep quiet and allowed the two men to pass through. They were in Lumiose City and they were hungry so they hit up a restaurant, coincidentally enough, they chose the restaurant Daniel visited before when he was first in the Kalos region.

They entered and they did their best to cover their identities to avoid all the attention and found a seat. Their orders were taken and they were soon given their meal. As they happily chewed on their food, a group of young men wearing black and baggy clothing all sat up from one table. Some people peaked but paid it no mind and returned their attention elsewhere. The group went outside and a minute after that, they heard a woman yell "No!" abruptly. The Barsony brothers grew curious, leaning to the side to get a better view and saw they were talking with a woman outside. Daniel immediately got flashbacks from back then, the images flashed in his mind rapidly. The Sullivan gang members harassing the woman, to his crushing defeat, and the following beatdown. The teen snapped back into reality, furrowing his brows and getting up, making his way outside to confront the men. Samuel became concerned for multiple reasons and prepared himself for things to go down.

"Come on, we'll pay you lotsa money if you do it! Now come on, we don't got all day." One of the scruffier ones demanded, the woman refusing ofcourse. The others attempted to convince her otherwise but to no avail. Then, a tall and slender one amongst them forced himself in front of his comrades and informed her.

"Miss, you got my word, that will be the only thing happening, no kidnapping or no shit, ya feel me?"

Daniel heard enough, stomping behind the men and raising his voice, "Okay, what the hell is this?!" Everyone turned towards him, his arms crossed and an unpleasant expression plastered on his face. The scruffy member made an "eh?" sound, so nonchalant, and stepped towards the boy.

"Who the hell do you think you're supposed to be? The police?" The man was about to forcefully poke Daniel but his arm was slapped away. This caused the rest of them except for the tall one to get defensive and hover around. Daniel didn't say anything, keeping a watchful eye over the individuals and readying himself. The Arceus Stone in his pocket generated a bright outline around itself in preparation for its activation.

Fortunately, the tall one broke through and attempted to break the tension, "Guys, guys, come on, no need to get violent now, do we?" He looked left and right to see if it worked.

"Shut yo bitch-ass up Zach, always tryin' to be the nice one get the fuck outta here."

"Fuck you bro." Zach retorted, despite this, the name caught Daniel severely off guard. His eyes widened and he looked towards Zach and inspected him. The more he observed, the more he was surprised and hurt by what he was seeing.

"Zach…?" Daniel called out, the young man looked to the teen confused and asked what he wanted. "No… it couldn't be… what the hell… why are you in a gang?" Daniel was completely flabbergasted, his eye twitching out of confusion.

"Umm… yeah…? Who are you?"

"I'm your friend, Zach, your friend Daniel. Remember? We met and your first words were like 'yo girl thick' or something like that. Remember? Holy GADZ? Remember any of that?"

Now it was Zach's time to be surprised, his jaw dropped upon realizing who it was. "No way… Dan, you're back? Uhh… well… this isn't what it looks like as I explained…"

"Don't give me that shit, what the hell happened? Why are you with a gang, speaking of which, what gang?!"

"Sullivan…"

Daniel facepalmed in frustration, draggin his hands forcefully down his face and leaving a red mark. "What happened to 'finding your dreams' and doing that, is this your idea of a job? Going around harassing and/or assaulting people for your own amusement?"

"This job gave me everything I ever wanted, alright?! It gave me women, power, sex, status, and glory! And all I gotta do is work for . It's that easy! I would have never done this if I stuck with you guys."

"So, you're saying that we held you back?"

"Kinda, I got everything I need right here."

"This is your IDEAL life? Is this really how you're going to treat your friends?! Well?!"

"It's not like that! It's no personal bro, just gotta do what you gotta do, ya feel me?"

"No, I don't feel you, as far as I'm concerned… I'm not even talking to the right person!"

"Things change, alright?! Is that hard for you to understand?!"

They heard a loud noise come from down the street, this caught everyone's attention and caused them to look. The noise was coming from somewhere down the street but the buildings blocked the view. They heard screams of fear and potentially pain, and people were running away. It wasn't long until the noises grew louder and louder and objects were flung into the air. The guys all took a step back and a bead of sweat formed on their foreheads, confused by the ruckus. They soon identified whatever it was is heading their way. They looked down the street, keeping their eyes glued in that direction and awaiting an arrival.

Objects were flung in that direction from street lights to fire hoses and even a small car was thrown.

Something finally appeared from hiding, it looked like a large pokemon wreaking havoc along with two others. The largest one was throwing cars aside left and right and flinging them into buildings. The bigger one seemed to notice the large group of guys and grab ahold a bigger car and with all of its might managed to lob it towards them. All the customers and pedestrians alike screaming in fear at the approaching vehicle. Samuel and Zach panicked and had no time to react besides bracing for the imminent impact. They shut their eyes closed and prepared for pain.

Nothing, they heard the car crash and hit something but not them. They didn't feel any different and left everyone surprised. They unshielded themselves and looked in front and was shocked to see Daniel standing, unscathed. The teen turned towards the men, his pupils now of a flaring red color and his hair spiked upwards. Daniel asked the bunch, "You guys okay?" They were speechless, leaving the boy to assume they were considering the lack of injuries. The representative looked towards the threat and identifying a Blastoise, an Infernape, and a Sceptile. What came across as odd to Daniel was how oddly humanoid they appeared, unnaturally so. "You guys get out of here, I'll take care of this."

Samuel was bewildered by his little brother's claim and begged, "Take care of this how-?" Daniel cut him off by taking off his jacket and throwing it at his brother. The teen zoomed straight towards the threat, leaving the guys in the dust. Zach's friends bolted off while he merely watched and attempted to process what was going on. The pokemon grew closer and closer to Daniel as he raced forward at shocking speeds. The Blastoise noticed their incoming target and grabbed a car and chucked it. Samuel cried out for his sibling, however, Daniel flipped over the car just as it made an impact with the ground and rolled off. The teen performed a spinning kick and got a hit directly on the enemy's shoulder. The impact causing the Pokemon to budge from its position just slightly and leave it stunned.

The Blastoise snapped out of its gaze, attempting to get a hook on the boy. Daniel maneuvered past the hit and used his new opening to land two consecutive hits before having to dodge a backhand hit. After dodging it, Daniel performed a stationary drop kick and pushed himself back. He was quick to flip back and regain his footing. The Infernape closed in on the boy and threw a flaming punch towards him, this caught him off-guard and he narrowly managed to dodge. Daniel did back-handsprings to gain distance and gain a better view of the situation. Once he was done, he looked up to find the three Pokemon had regrouped and were staring down their newest target. Daniel studied them briefly, surmising which one he should take down first and what order.

He was cut off with the Sceptile generating a Leaf Storm with its tail and launching it towards the boy. He hopped up, bringing his legs close to his body as to not get hit. This left him open as the Infernape from earlier struck Daniel and forced him back, he coughed out and slid on the hard pavement. A powerful stream of Water zoomed towards Daniel which almost hit him but this time he was prepared. He hopped out of the way, coming in close within range to handle those three. They sent out any far-ranged attacks they could manage and Daniel did his best to evade them all.

Samuel simply watched in awe, questioning whether he was watching someone else or his precious little brother fight. It was all a blur for him and all he could do was watch the action unfold in front of him.

The Trio of pokemon focused their first at one spot in front of him, creating an explosion in that spot. Daniel emerged from the cloud of smoke unscathed as he managed to dodge and land between the three of them. He crossed his arms and using the stone's abilities, held all of them in place using psychic. The three Pokemon were frozen in place until they were launched in three separate directions when Daniel shot his arms outwards. They collected themselves, wiggling their heads and looking up towards Daniel who motioned for them to come close.

Serena was walking down the stairs of the Pokemon Center she was inside, she had just finished showering so her hair was still slightly wet. As she was descending, she heard a lot of chatter coming from nearby which caught her attention. She was down the stairs and noticed everyone hovering around a television that was hanging up on the ceiling. Even Nurse Joy stopped what she was doing to watch, Serena's curiosity was peaked and she joined the crowd as she attempted to get a better view of what was happening.

A new anchor was giving context to the situation, explaining how three rampaging Pokemon of abnormal appearance have wreaked havoc in Lumiose City. The anchor explained that the police are being mobilized and the Pokemon are being held back by someone or something. The screen now displayed a separate male anchor coming in close and gripping his gear as he approached the site. Once they finished turning the corner, they identified a person weaving and hopping around the three like a fly. He confirmed it was a person who was "fighting" the Pokemon and the maneuvers said individual was pulling off could only be considered superhuman. Serena watched and processed what she was observing with her own two eyes.

Daniel was bobbing around each attack, mainly focusing on the Blastoise as it swung repeatedly. With each opening the creature left, Daniel exploited getting a free hit. Daniel wasn't making much headway with the strength he was using and needed to amp it up if he wanted to finish this quickly. The large water pokemon swung with another hook and the teen took this as an opportunity. With one swift movement, he slid under the attack and forced himself just above the ground slightly. Using all this built up momentum, he cranked up the power of the Arceus Stone to where he was enveloped in a blue aura with green static electricity emanating from it. Finally, adding all this up, he whipped his whole body to the side and struck the creature's face with immense force.

The kick knocked some teeth out along with a light stream of blood following it. Daniel witnessed this and cringed at the sight, deducing he used too much power. The Blastoise regained its senses, grabbing ahold of Daniel tightly and throwing him towards a building. The representative managed to recover mid-air and hit the building without causing it any damage. The Infernape generated a large stream of flames and directed it towards Daniel. The flames consumed the entire area Daniel was planted at and scorching the walls of the building. The Infernape smirked at victory but was deadly wrong.

Daniel used the stone's ability to Teleport behind and smash its face in and launch it towards the Sceptile who was not expecting that. Blastoise readied itself and Rapidly spun on its shell towards the teen and surrounding itself with water blades. Daniel was prepared, jumping into the air to avoid the incoming target. The same Pokemon did something unexpected, firing Hydropumps from both cannons as it spun thus generating a spiralling vortex of water. Daniel was not prepared for this and was blasted at full force by the Hydro Pumps and launched away.

The representative tumbled on the floor, rolling on the hard pavement and getting bruised up slightly. He managed to get up and focus his attention towards this opponents who were farther away now due to the last attack. He assumed a fighting stance and thought to himself, "_Damn, this is kind of difficult. I'm used to doing bigger fights with Bisharp at my side but now that he's not here, I'm all on my own. Well, I suppose the only thing I can do is take my time and make sure no one gets hurt._"

The Sceptile Stepped forward and used Leaf Storm to hit Daniel from afar. Daniel dodged it, coming in close once more and trailing the storm. Blastoise came in close and focused his Hydro Pumps to fire towards Daniel. The representative jumped into the air and prepared a Focus blast in one hand and tossing it towards the Infernape and managing to curve the trajectory. The Blast hit and knocked the pokemon back dealing some serious damage. However, the representative didn't quite plan his landing and landed between the three of them. They now surrounded him in a triangle formation and they took this opportunity to close in and attack him. Daniel flinched, using his ability to generate a protective shield.

The three Pokemon struck it, continuously hitting and unleashing any attack they could think of. Daniel calmed down slightly knowing he was safe until his shield began to crack and cause him to panic. Daniel remembered he was nowhere near as powerful as Deoxys and Bisharp so of course the shield would not be as strong either. He began to panic once more as he watched his shield crumble bit by bit until it was holding onto its last shred of life. Daniel saw each of them back off and prepare their strongest attacks. Daniel began to sweat and thought quickly on how to handle the situation. He winced just as they are about to launch their attacks.

Nothing happened and he opened his eyes to see the three of them were frozen in place by psychic abilities. Daniel knew he wasn't doing this because he wasn't focusing on it. "How pathetic" Daniel heard in his mind, this caused him to flinch and look up to see Deoxys hovering above him with his usual cold expression. The Legendary slowly descended as he used Psychic to force them to the ground and make them kneel. As the Psychic himself landed, he pushed even further and was pressing them on the ground, almost as if he was crushing them alive. The Pokemon began to choke and reached out for help, this made Daniel concerned and he begged Deoxys to stop. The pokemon did shortly after and he relaxed, telling the representative "Relax, I know what I'm doing unlike you."

They inspected the three Pokemon and deciphered that they fainted from the pain and were knocked unconscious. Daniel knelt down towards one of them, observing it and asking, "What's up with these guys? Why were they rampaging like this?" Before Deoxys could provide his thoughts, the three feral Pokemon began to spazz out of control. The teen stepped back as the Pokemon shook uncontrollably and began to foam up in their mouth. Both Daniel and Deoxys looked with disgust as they began to change shape and shrink. They continued watching as they changed color, appeared more humanoid, and didn't even look like pokemon anymore. Their eyes widened when it stopped and surrounding them were three human corpses. "What the hell…?! They were people?! But how?!"

They were interrupted once more by the sound of clapping coming from nearby. It was slow, and almost produced a sense of sarcasm, they looked around until they spotted someone upon one of the rooftops near them. They were standing in front of the sun's light, making it hard to decipher the person's appearance. They continued clapping until the sun was blocked out by a cloud and no light blocked the view anymore.

The person was tall, having tall, spiky white hair with bangs that curled upwards. The person also wore sunglasses and a black mask covering the lower part of their face. They also wore a red and black leather jacket zipped up along with dark jeans and red shoes.

"Well well, would you look who it is, Daniel Barsony, so nice of you to save this city." The individual spoke, it was clearly a man based on their voice. This shocked Daniel as no one besides Samuel and Zach knew he was back. Daniel didn't want to make his return public yet so this surprised him that this person already knew who he is.

Daniel spoke up in a demanding tone, "And who the hell are you?"

"Me? I am Engano, in the flesh and I am very pleased to make your acquaintance." Engano bowed, it was clear this man was very confident, almost cocky.

"How do you know who I am?"

"That's my own little secret Daniel Barsony, you see, I know a lot about you but the fun part is that you know nothing about me. Funny, isn't it?"

"Besides the fact that you're quite pompous."

"Oh but my dear boy, I can back it up, every word, every gesture and every action I take… I can prove and back it up. Unfortunately, I would love to stay and chat but I gotta go. Ta-da!" The man fell backwards out of their sight and like that, he was gone.

Daniel and Deoxys were both very confused by the situation, just what was going on? Why were the abnormal pokemon just regular humans and who is Engano? Do they have some sort of connection? And where are Bisharp and Andres? It was hard to make out, but regardless, they'll find their answer in time if they investigate. All will be revealed in due time, Next time on Nothing to Arceus: Aftermath

The news anchor talked about what had happened, explaining that they know nothing about the heroic superhuman and how the infamous Crime Lord, Engano, made a allegid appearance at the scene when the ruckus was over. Serena sighed in relief knowing it was over and walked away to do her business. It wasn't until hours later until she received a text from Samuel, she opened up her phone and read the message to read "You need to come back." Serena grew concerned, and closed her phone as she prepared.


	2. Chapter 2, Unpleasant Reunions

Opening Song: Golden Time Lover by Sukima Switch

The news became a mess due to the events that had transpired, ideas and debates sparked on the web about the pokemon revealed to be humans. Some speculators even believed to think that all Pokemon are mutated humans and no one knows. No matter what though, there was still no definitive answer provided and everything was left a mystery.

It had been a few short hours since the incident and the Barsony brothers were hanging low for a bit as to not be recognized. They didn't want to speak of what happened just yet and chose to move onto another topic. Samuel decided to bring it up, "So… you excited to see our new house?" He questioned, adjusting his hat lower as several pedestrians passed by.

Daniel was sitting up-right on the bench and looked to his other brother, "Oh, uh.. Yeah. Where is it at by the way?"

"Vaniville Town, a nice little neighborhood where we can just relax and not worry about anyone."

"How far is it from here?

"Honestly, we could just walk it. It's not too long of a walk but we're actually gonna be driven there."

"Taxi?"

"Actually, no, by ." This made Daniel raise his eyebrows, he was surprised but it was a pleasant one to say the least. Daniel questioned if knew where exactly they lived, this made Samuel chuckle and he responded, "That's the fun part." The teen looked at his brother questioningly, concerned whether that was a good thing or bad. He'll find out, the two brothers sat there for a couple minutes before a car pulled up and the window rolled down to reveal the person they were waiting for.

immediately greeted Samuel but looked surprised to see the person next to him. She then realized it was the person who was on TV just a bit ago and it surprised her even more knowing it was actually Daniel. Her jaw dropped and she physically got out of her car to give Daniel a hug. Remember, she was like his second mother. Like a mother of course, she began to ask rapid-fire questions asking if he's okay or if he's hurt and Daniel brushed off the concerns, telling her he's all right. She sighed in relief and took the boys into the car.

Daniel smiled, feeling the love of a mother which reminded him of his own. This made something click in his mind as he literally remembered his own mother, he spun towards Samuel with a wide expression of shock and begged, "Oh my god, I never asked, where's mom?!"

Samuel and both looked away, their expression dropping as they attempted to think of an answer. Samuel spoke up, "Well.. she's here, in Kalos."

"Is she working a new job?! Is it better than the last one? Or is she at the house waiting for us?! I can't wait to see her again, I missed her so much!" Samuel looked to the front view mirror where him and made eye-contact. signaled that she doesn't know and Samuel should keep answering.

"She's… occupied at the moment, we'll go see her tomorrow."

"She's that busy, huh? She was always a hard worker so she's probably working extra hard because of the move." Samuel only responded with a quiet "mhm" sound and the car was soon filled with an awkward silence. Fortunately, they managed to find other things to talk about and the car ride was short. Daniel must've assumed knew exactly where their house was because Samuel didn't provide any direction and they pulled up in front of a house. Samuel smiled, getting out of the car and gazing upon it. Daniel exited the vehicle as well and was surprised to say the last.

The house was nicer than their old one definitely, they had a nice front lawn with white fencing covering the perimeter and a gate at the center which opened up to the stone walkway. Their house was had two floors and was somewhat big, not enormous but for what it was, it was something. The house had a reddish-brown color to it with a dark-blue roof consisted of numerous tiles. Daniel was slightly underwhelmed being honest but he bet the inside is better. Samuel assured the boy they would change the house over time and change it to their liking but the base should be to their liking.

They walked in with Samuel having the key to the house, and the very first room they enter is a humongous living room with a kitchen at the corner. There was a staircase to the right which led to upstairs and more rooms to the left. Daniel immediately went up the stairs to find the rest of the bathrooms, bedrooms and etc. Once entering a bedroom, he claimed it which made Samuel laugh as that was the room he predicted Daniel would like it in the first place. There was some temporary furniture in place for them to use and they would have to wait a little bit before their belongings came in. They could make do but Samuel told the boy he had one more surprise in store for Daniel.

They lived directly next to the Ferris household, that's why knew how to get there by heart, because they lived next to the Ferris family. offered that the two boys could stay in her house until their stuff came in if they were uncomfortable with their house. They decided to take her up on the offer and thanked their second mother for her generosity. Daniel then realised he never asked where Serena was and how she was doing.

explained that after the Team Flare attack, Serena stuck with Ash and she consulted with her mother and decided she was going to go to Hoenn to improve her skills as a performer. However, Serena did complain to her and said she missed Daniel already. This made Daniel blush a little knowing she cared for him that much. explained some more but it was trivial and not too important to explain. Samuel added to all of it by saying Serena would be on her way here soon and they were going to surprise her with Daniel. It sounded like a plan and they laughed it off and wondered what her reaction would be like but decided to wait for her return instead and see for themselves.

Samuel remembered, "Speaking of returns… where's Bisharp and Andres? Shouldn't they be with you? Did something happen to them?" Daniel said he would inform everyone at the same time. This gave Samuel the idea to message everyone and tell them to meet here. He messaged everyone: George, Zach, Lucas, Serena, and even Serena's friends: Trevor, Tierno, and Shauna. After that was settled, Samuel informed his little brother that they were going to be very busy tomorrow so he better get some sleep. Daniel took the suggestion and him along with the other two decided to hit the hay.

It was the next day and everyone had done their morning necessities, Samuel was sure to finish quickly because they were going to be busy soon. Daniel was ready, as for why they were going to be so busy, he was not so sure but he was ready nonetheless. Samuel pulled up his phone when he felt a vibration and noticed he got a text message from someone. He pulled up the message and read "We're getting on the plane, be there soon." Samuel smiled knowing things were going according to schedule.

When they were ready, Samuel took the two of them to go to the Lumiose City airport so they can pick up a special person. Daniel assumed it was Serena but he was told it was someone he hasn't seen in ten years. Daniel was surprised and attempted to put together who he hasn't seen in ten years but couldn't put together an answer. Once inside the airport, they leaned on some railing with a wall of glass in front of them. They were waiting in the International arrivals and were waiting for the special person to show up. While they wait, Daniel figured it a good time to discuss the events of yesterday as he had some concerns he wanted to express.

"Samuel… about yesterday, what do you think all that was about? With the pokemon and Engano?"

Samuel looked to his brother and then upwards in thought, "Yeah, it is concerning what happened yesterday. You thinking there's a connection between the two?"

"Yeah but… I don't know… that Engano fellow, he disturbs me… what's his deal? What do we know about him?" Samuel put his hand on his chin and recollected his knowledge.

"He's bad news, that's for sure. His problem is that he's a complete mystery to everyone and we know only some simple facts… or those are the facts he wants us to know… I'm not sure myself, it's hard to get a read on him."

"Well, what are the facts?"

"Well, I've been helping the police with several cases and from what I know, his first case file was registered a month or two after you went away. Any attempts at learning about him have gone poorly so all we have is theories. One of our theories is that he works for Rux Sullivan but we also have evidence to believe that the two are at odds and are opposed to each other. So far, our evidence is leaning more towards the ladder of the two but there's no definitive proof. It could all just be a ploy for something bigger but again, we know nothing. All we do know, just based off of some of the things he's done, there's reason to believe he has his own gang to rival Sullivan's and could potentially have the same amount of power as him."

This made Daniel's heart ache in worry as he proposed another question, "Then.. how does this guy know who I am? Did you have some sort of altercation with him?"

"No, yesterday was my first time even setting eyes on him besides camera footage and other sources but they're hard to believe until I saw him myself. He seems particularly interested in you if he was willing to make a public appearance just to make a threat."

"Yeah, it is confusing… but, if what you say is true and he really does have this power. I have to be extra careful, he could be watching us as we speak. I'm sure he might have connections, if he wants to hurt me, he's seen my strength so he might try to go after you guys instead. He'll go after my loved ones, he'll try to hurt you, or worse…"

Samuel placed his hands on his brothers shoulder, realizing he was getting worried.. "Daniel, it's cool, yes, we don't know too much about him and he might have that power. But we can take care of ourselves and we're here for each other. Daniel, it's not just you having to protect, we're a family, we protect each other. And the same goes for the rest of the gang, we're in this together so you're not alone, you hear me? As long as we work together for this, we can do it. After all, we're the unbeatable champions, right?"

"But I'm the Unbeatable Champion now… I beat you, remember?"

"Okay, we have an unbeatable champion and the ex-champion, better?" This made Daniel chuckle a little bit and cheer up as a result. His brother has a point and he's not alone anymore, he told Daniel that he personally feels a lot more safe knowing Daniel's around as a confidence booster for the boy. It was true so he wasn't lying.

The doors opened up and people were walking through, dozens and dozens of people all walked out with suitcases and they would reach the people behind the glass wall and walk off. This made Daniel look to his older brother in confusion as he wasn't even sure who he was looking for which made him chuckle but he told his sibling to give it a minute.

More people walked out until two people caught his eye. They were both females who looked to be related because of their looks. One of them was taller than the other but not by much but it was noticeable.

The taller woman had long black hair which was tied into a large bun in the back of her hair along with two long laces of hair hanging in front. She had brown eyes and wore light makeup. She was tall and slender and well developed for a woman, wearing a light grey T-shirt under a glossy black jacket. She wore blue jeans and black high-heels, and to top it off, she had a dark red purse hanging on her shoulder.

The shorter one one had black curly hair with blonde streaks within it. She had blue eyes unlike the other and didn't wear any makeup. She wore a loose short pink shirt which revealed her belly area and black also had a bracelet on along with high-heels and she was distracted on her phone.

Daniel watched the two and found them somewhat attractive, not as much as Serena in his eyes but it was worth noting to him. So much so he told Samuel, "Huh, those two are kinda cute, you see those girls?" That's when Samuel burst into laughter, making his younger sibling confused as to why he was laughing. Daniel questioned his older brother and then received a thought, "Wait a minute, are they your-"

Samuel cut him off by managing to cease his laughter and put his finger up, a tear in his eye because of how hard he laughed. "No no, they're not just mine, they're OUR cousins."

Daniel's entire expression widened with guilt and shock and his jaw dropped loosely, he cursed to himself, "I'm going to hell, I just committed a sin!"

"What, complimenting your cousins?"

"Yes! Cuz that indicates all the wrong things and that's wrong and that's a bad thing to do and now-"

"Dude, chill, you're starting to think like Zach." The mentioning of the teen's friend caused him to calm down and his overall demeanor to drop. "Still haven't come to terms with it, huh?" Daniel made a "mhm" sound. "He'll finds his way eventually, maybe you can change him back for right now, don't worry about that, I say that because the girls are about to be here any second now."

"Wait what-" They heard a girls voice call out to Samuel, this made everyone look and believe the previous champion was present. Samuel cringed and lowered his hat to avoid catching everyone else's attention. The Barsony brothers spotted their cousins making their way towards them, with the taller one telling the other to calm down and be quiet. Meanwhile, the shorter looked much too excited.

The two girls reached the guys, the shorter one giving Samuel a high-five with a cheery smile on her face. "Cousin Samuel! It's been so long, how are you doing?" Samuel chuckled, explaining he was doing well and that it's only been two year since their last meeting. This confused Daniel more and made him more mortified at what he did earlier. The older one going up and giving the ex-champion a gentle hug which he gladly returned. The younger girl turned to Daniel confusingly and sized him up. "Who's this cute guy you brought with you, Samuel?" Samuel laughed at the irony considering Daniel had complimented them just a minute ago and was treated to a surprise.

Meanwhile, Daniel stood in place and he was deep in thought until he realized who it was standing in front of him, "Liz?" The girl in question dropped her head to the side with a puzzled look before he could say anything else, Liz pulled the poor teen into a death hug and managed to lift him off the ground. This made Daniel freak out because he was not mentally prepared to be picked up and had to fight his reflexes to not hurt her in response.

"Oh my gosh! I missed you so much, where have you been, dead?!" She quired, putting the teen down who was still confuzzled by the whole situation.

"Uhh, not really? Wow… umm, what's with your clothes?" Daniel looked down at her skimpy clothing which made him uncomfortable.

"Oh this? I just wear it to tease all the boys, right now trying to find a boyfriend so I guess this was the best way to do it."

"That's not how-"

"Enough about me! More about you! What's with that scar? It looks super awesome! And you look BUILT, how much can you lift?! I bet you're RIPPED under that jacket, right?!" Daniel couldn't bring himself to answer as he was so confused by the outburst of questions and everything she has said so far.

Samuel put his hand on her shoulder, telling her she needed to tone it down, "Now now, Liz, we don't need to get too excited now, you have a lot more time later to discuss those things."

Daniel looked to his older brother wanting an answer, "Why are they here right now?"

The older one, named Anna, answered, "We're here to visit you, silly. What? You don't appreciate the presence of your cousins who you haven't seen in ten years?"

Daniel felt embarrassed and dumbstruck now, trying to save face, "N-no.. it's not that… I mean… like… why now?"

Samuel responded, "And that's where mom comes in. This is the part where we visit her." Samuel looked to Anna and exchanged glances as if in acknowledgement. Daniel got excited, ready to see his mother. The teen demanded they left right away and so they did.

They were dropped off at a hospital and walked inside, no words were exchanged upon their entry. Samuel looked to one of the doctors and the doctor nodded towards the man. Samuel nodded back and the group continued walking, they followed Samuel's lead as he knew the way. They went up several flights of stairs before walking down a hallway now. Nothing but doors on their left and right, Daniel in the meantime had a sense of eerie. He wasn't sure what to think, either their mother worked here or worse…

They stopped at the end of the hallway and in front of a door to the right. The older man let out a deep breath and knocked on the door and awaited an answer. A voice told them to come inside, Samuel closed his eyes and opened the sliding door and found one of the nurses sitting on a small chair. There was a large curtain blocking the view to what she was facing towards. Once the nurse saw the group enter the room, she let out a sigh and got up out of her seat and walked towards Samuel. She held a clipboard in her hands and held it close to her chest in unease. "She's asleep right now, please try not to wake her up, she needs rest. I'll give you a bit."

"Thank you." Samuel nodded signaling she can move past and grant them access. Daniel understood what was happening, and no matter what he told himself, he was not ready for what he was about to see. They stepped forward, past the curtain until they saw their mother on the hospital bed. The sight made Daniel's heart sink to his feet and dread plaster on his face, he nearly went pale just from what he was looking at. The two girls covered their mouths in shock, Liz gasping out loud just as she covered her mouth. Samuel closed his eyes and looked away.

Their mother lay on the bed, hooked up to various machines with the heartbeat sensor beeping to signal her heartbeats. She was hooked up to several other machines to stabilize her condition, she was covered in wrinkles and had large strands of grey hair. She had also lost some as well and she looked to have a difficult time breathing despite the oxygen mask over her mouth. She looked sick, she had lost significant amount of weight and looked very frail.

Daniel didn't just feel like he got punched in the gut, it felt like it was ripped out of his stomach. The teen grew weak in the knees and trudged to the side of the bed to get a better look at his mother. He collapsed to the floor, his head still over the bed and he could see her. "Mom… what happened…?" He took her hand with both of his and held it tightly.

Samuel let out his breath and simply replied with, "Stress, that's the only reason…"

"H-how…?" Daniel became shaky, not just physically but his voice too as he trembled in fear at the sight. Despite not seeing his mother in seven years, she shouldn't have aged this much despite her own age. Samuel didn't answer, only wincing in pain and looking away. "I said tell me how!" Daniel lashed out, raising his voice as he looked upon his older sibling with rage in his eyes. It was at that moment that Daniel felt his hand be held onto, he spun his head around and noticed his mother was gripping his hand tightly but she was still asleep. The nurse walked up telling them that if they were going to be loud, they needed to leave. Samuel left something at his mothers table and they took their leave outside of the room. Once they exited, Daniel menacingly turned to his sibling and said in a threatening tone, "Talk."

"I-it was because of you… you did this to her."

"What?"

"Think about this, imagine her baby boy who she loved immensely and stressed about constantly simply run off one day without returning. She went mad, calling every police station she could think of to find you and you never turned up. She stressed out and that was the period of time she aged the way she did. And when we talked for the first time on the phone six years later, she was happy because she thought you would be home soon and we can become a family. I leave therefore leaving her all by herself and what does she see after not seeing her baby boy for six years? She watches him get hurt on live television and nearly dies on both occasions, and to add fuel to the fire, you disappeared along with Arceus and that was the final straw that broke the camel's back. All the added stress came together like that… she had a nearly fatal heart attack… All the stress did this to her, everything you saw in there was because of it."

The explanation made Daniel growl, he clenched his fists so tightly his entire arm began to shake uncontrollably. He was taking slow but deep breaths in an attempt to calm down but to no avail. The Arceus Stone prematurely activated due to his state causing his pupils turn flaring red. In a fit of sheer rage, he shouted as loud as he can and whipped around as he struck the wall. The impact left a cracked dent in the hospital wall which made his cousins back away in slight fear. "She can't know about me… No, she can't know about my job as a representative and what I have to do!" Daniel pulled his fist back and his knuckles were now bright red. "She can't know! She can't! I don't care what we do, I don't care if the police gets the credit or we take the TV away from the room. But we can't tell her!" Daniel slowly stepped towards Samuel and grabbing him by his shirt. "Samuel, please! For the love of Arceus please help me out here! I don't care if lying is immoral, I'll do whatever it takes to keep her alive!"

Samuel remained unresponsive, looking towards the floor in shame as he was shook in place by his younger brother. Daniel begged and pleaded and he looked as though he wanted to break down and cry. "Of course… We'll do what we can to leave her out, but it's going to be difficult, you know that, right?"

"Samuel, I don't care! I don't care if I lose my arm or something, whatever it takes to keep her stress-free."

"I promise, I'm gonna help you out. She's not just your mother you know.." Daniel smiled somewhat before allowing his head to drop and he tried to regain his composure. The two cousins went up toward the guys and gave them a comforting hug to make them feel better. They sat there for a couple minutes before Daniel lifted his head up and sniffled. The representative took a deep breath and let it out, showing he calmed down now but his expression wasn't quite the same.

Samuel patted his sibling's shoulder and said to him, "Hey, if it makes you feel any better. The guys should be at the house soon and Serena will be there too. Incase you want to go there and rejoin them all."

Daniel looked at his older brother and a small smile formed on his face, "I'd like that… a lot…" Samuel motioned for them to leave and so they did. Daniel was in deep thought the entire time, regretting the mistakes of his past even more than he already did and wanting to move on and correct them even more. Although his expression had dropped, there was a tint of determination in his eyes now that Samuel hadn't seen since the boy was younger.

The group made it to ' house where they saw George standing there impatiently. They pulled which made the boy look and happy to see Samuel with three other people. George questioned who the other three people were and Samuel introduced them properly. George's jaw dropped when he was introduced to the cousins and even more so when Samuel revealed Daniel's identity. George responded, "Dude, no way…!"

Daniel stepped forward, smiling greeting his friend, "Hey, George."

"It is you! Get over here you dog!" The energetic boy grabbed the man's hand and pulled him into a friendly hug. They patted each others backs and smiled. They parted from their embrace and they took a good look at each other. George hasn't changed much besides growing a tad bit taller since last time. His hair had grown a bit longer but he kept his same style. For the occasion, he wore a sleek white collared shirt along with fitting black pants and polished shoes. Daniel questioned what the get-up was for and George explained that it was because he figured it was a reunion and he wanted to dress nice when in the presence of at least the ex-champion. This made the pair share a good laugh and they exchanged a fist-bump. It was refreshing for Daniel to reunite with an old friend and not have it be dramatic and overall comfortable for both parties.

They proceeded to walk inside with Daniel's sibling and relatives following behind. George informed the teen on how he's been training real hard with his Lucario to keep up with Andres and the boy himself. George had a trump card which he revealed to be a mega-stone for his Lucario. George gloated about how fast his Lucario was and it would even leave the teen speechless, Daniel was excited to see his friend's Lucario in action and get a nice sense of nostalgia. George questioned where Zach and Andres were but Daniel said he'd explain later when everyone shows up. George wasn't bothered by it and the two Holy GADZ members made their way inside to relax.

Soon Tierno, Shauna, and Trevor were over and were surprised to see Daniel. They hadn't gotten to interact much besides the trio watching Daniel at the Pokemon League. So they decided to take the time to get accustomed and meet each other properly. was supplying food and drinks for them all and they enjoyed a good time.

Serena walked along the street, it had become sunset and the street lights turned on. She made her way through and taking in the sight of her neighborhood. She hasn't visited in over a year so it was refreshing for her to be back home. She was beginning to approach her home and stopped when she heard laughter coming from inside. She could see the lights in the living room were on and silhouettes of people were visible. Her eyes widened with a bit of excitement, walking up to the house door and knocking on it.

Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the knocking and turned their attention towards the door. They looked to each other and decided she would open it. She left the room to go down the hallway and opened the door. "Ah, Serena! Welcome home!" exclaimed, Daniel and the rest of the guys stood there speechless before getting excited to see the girl. The trio became giddy as they raced out of the room to greet the girl. Daniel and the remaining few stood in place as they heard the girl's voice address her mother and the trio who had left. Hearing her voice made him blush slightly, anticipating her entrance into the living room.

told Serena to come into the living room where everyone's waiting. Serena gladly did so, and Daniel began to sweat slightly as he heard their footsteps approaching. "Oh, I also have a surprise for you!" added, telling the girl to stay there as she and the trio entered the living room. Without saying anything, motioned for everyone to get in front of Daniel and whispered instructions to them. Once everything was ready, Serena was allowed to come in.

Serena entered the living room and looked around, surprised to see everyone huddled together in a group. The mother counted to three and gave everyone the green light and like that, they all shouted, "Surprise!" They all moved out of the way to reveal Daniel standing in the middle of the room facing her. Daniel blushed when he saw her, he wasn't sure what it was but seeing her at that moment was magical for him. She had become more stunning than before, more beautiful which made the boy feel flustered laying his eyes on her.

Serena had developed more physically, being more curvaceous. Her hair hasn't changed but she wore a light pink lipstick. Her attire consisted of a blue sweater and a black mini-skirt added with her iconic black stockings. And finally, she wore her same brown boots, a bracelet and a pink purse hanging on her shoulder.

Daniel wasn't sure whether it was the fact he hadn't seen her in so long or he hadn't seen a girl in that same amount of time as well. Whatever it was, his spark of attraction reignited his love for her and remembering everything. He gulped, bringing himself to speak to the confused girl as he simply smiled, "I'm back, Serena."

The girl stood there, her expression lighting up and her shoulders dropped causing her purse to slide off and hit the floor. Her eyes reflected the light and she stuttered, barely uttering his name, "D-daniel…?" It was her turn to blush as she looked the boy up and down and her heart raced rapidly. He had become a lot more handsome and dreamy compared to before, she was left speechless. All Daniel did was nod in acknowledgement, assuring the girl it was in-fact him. Her eyes became warm as the tears covered them and she took a step forward. She took another step before slowly entering a full sprint and letting her tears comes out. "Daniel!"

The representative grew a big smile on his face as he nearly teared up himself. Serena called out to him one more time before leaping forward in an attempt to tackle hug him. Unfortunately, Daniel caught her mid air and lifted her up by her shoulders and spun her around. Serena watched with a gleeful look and a big smile as her crush spun her around. He stopped spinning around and pulling the girl into an embrace. Serena squeezed him, holding onto him like the earth depended on it. Daniel did the same as he caressed her hair and closing his eyes. He opened them slightly and he hadn't realized he was taller than Serena. The girl was crying out loud, sobbing as she had a difficult time catching her breath and buried herself in his chest. "Serena, it's alright… I'm home now…"

Serena attempted to speak but her speech was broken up and hard to understand. To help calm her down, he patted her back and caressed her hair some more as he brought her in as close as he could. "It's alright… calm down, take a deep breathe… I'm here now, I'm here…"

She did as told, slowing her breathing down and finally managing to speak, "I m-missed you so much.. T-things weren't the same without you around and… and I thought something terrible happened to you… I was so worried…" Daniel gently tore her away much to her disappointment, he leaned forward and remained at eye level with her.

"It's alright, Serena, this time I'm back, for good. I'm not going anywhere this time, I promise."

"Y-you mean it…?"

"Heh, when I make a promise, I intend to keep it, right?" Serena smiled before burying herself once more in his chest and didn't cry this time, only enjoying his warmth and comforting embrace which made her feel safe. Everyone else watched from the sidelines, only smiling and honestly glad for the two of them.

And with the heart-warming reunion and everyone's arrival, Daniel will soon have to explain the whereabouts of his two companions. Just what kind of story does our Representative have to tell and are Bisharp and Andres safe? All will be explained next time on Nothing to Arceus: Aftermath.

Character ages:

Daniel: 16

Samuel: 20

Serena: 17

George: 17

Zach: 17

Liz: 15

Anna: 21

Engano: ?


	3. Chapter 3, Change: Part 1

_Several weeks after the fabled Clash of Titans, there was a terrifying and enormous hurricane generating powerful gusts of wind. The waves were tall and mighty, threatening anything that dare approach the center. The building-sized waves crashed and flowed along, seemingly uncontrollable, the dangerous cloud hovering in the sky remained in place. Through the wavy journey through the ocean and beyond it was the center of the hurricane, the most calm and peaceful part of it. The center was devoid of any extra clouds obscurities, only allowing the bright rays of the sun to strike the center and bring light to everything. _

_What was in the center? That's what the real secret is, a humongous island filled to the brim with life. Standing tall as the peak of the island was a large volcano and surrounding the island was lush forests and various habitats. Pokemon of different types and species hid amongst the trees, obscuring themselves from sight. However, they soon felt light and sudden rumbles which caught their attention. The Pokemon began to investigate, leaving it's home to discover the supposed source of the rumbling. As they passed through endless bushes and saw a light up ahead, they pursued it. Coming ever so closer until they could see the light and were met with a large open area with an intense battle raging on._

_Typhlosion planted itself on the ground on all fours and spewed out powerful flame projectiles into the air. The large flame Pokemon targeted his opponent, Bisharp, who was currently in his transformed state. The Dark Steel Pokemon avoided the incoming attacks, jumping over some and performing back-handsprings to gain some distance. Typhlosion smirked, tapping into more of its own power and manipulating his flames so they shot out of the ground as a fierce geyser. Bisharp dodged the rising flames, making his way around Typhlosion as he continuously moved left and right out of the way of the geysers. The Pokemon didn't realize it until it happened and he was lured into a trap set up by his rival. _

_The Dark Steel Pokemon closed in but was surprised to see multiple pillars of flames shoot out of the ground, surrounding him and leaving him inside of a cage. The flames began to flow inwards inside the cage as it began to close in on Bisharp and threaten to injure him. Bisharp looked up and discovered that he had no chance to escape and he was going to get hit. Noticing this, he focused and cleared his mind of all worries, he began to resonate with the stone causing him to be outlined in bright blue._

_At the perimeter of the open area, both Andres and Daniel were jogging with the former in the lead by a meter. Daniel was panting, his face red from exhaustion and he began to slow down as his friend continued to run ahead. The boy felt slightly dizzy, slouching against a tree as he felt the shockwave from a massive explosion from nearby. He looked to the source and discovered his brother, Bisharp, was high in the air, unscathed by the attack. Daniel still attempted to catch his breath and tried to get more relaxed against the tree as he watched the battle proceed._

_Using the stone's power, Bisharp focused his strength and shot his arms out, releasing a massive stream of water in a Hydro Pump. The massive Fire Pokemon saw the incoming attack and chose to counter, building up fire in its mouth and releasing it outwards towards the incoming stream. The two massive flowing elements clashed against each other and generated a lot of steam as the flames causing the water to boil up but the water also caused the flames to be put out at the same time. Both pokemon pushed onwards, continuing to unleash their attacks as more and more steam rose into the air. The clashing of elements was loud and everyone in the vicinity could hear it. Typhlosion raised its power, its natural blue flames becoming more and more brighter by the second and the water began to dissolve as the scorching fire grew closer and closer to Bisharp. _

_Bisharp knew he wasn't going to win this little clash and activated his Crimson Blades and slashed the flames and generating an x-shaped projectile which cut through and approached the fire Pokemon. Typhlosion stopped its attack to evade the incoming projectile and this was the opening Bisharp needed. He dropped down to the ground and sped towards Typhlosion. After Andres' Pokemon dodged, he built up his flames and let it out as a massive Fire Blast which headed straight towards Bisharp. _

_Another explosion which lit up the area more, Daniel continued watching in awe and a bit of jealousy. His thoughts were cut off with Andres calling towards Daniel, "Yo, slowpoke! You're lagging behind, get a move on!" Daniel ignorantly replied, "yeah, yeah" as he forced himself to continue jogging despite his pain and exhaustion. _

_Andres stood there impatiently as his friend was taking his sweet time just jogging. Daniel's face was as red as a tomato as he pushed himself more and more until he finally reached Andres. "Took you long enough." Andres mocked, letting out a sigh as the teen collapsed to the floor and rolled over onto his back attempting to breath._

_Daniel complained, "How… do you have so much stamina…?" He said between breaths, his eyes closed as the light from the sun hurt him and his skin felt like he got a good hot bath in Typhlosion's flames. _

"_Unlike you, I'm in shape, always have been. You're not gonna make any headway if you keep this up."_

"_Shut...up… I'll get there…"_

"_Yeah, eventually." Andres left as one last mock before there was an awkward silence that consumed the area. "You going to get up?"_

"_Yeah… give me a minute…"_

"_Umm, you don't got a minute bud. You got to go to your focus training right away." _

"_Damn it, fine." The teen forced himself up and experience a bit of vertigo, once he regained his senses, he marched on. Daniel made his way to his destination, walking through the forest ignorantly as he was trapped in his thoughts. "_Man, this sucks, I can barely keep up here! God, Bisharp already getting some practice with the Arceus Stone while I'm stuck here doing conditioning." _The representative thought, finding himself by a waterfall, not that large but it was a nice sight. There was some flat rocks jutting out of the water and atop the tallest of the rocks was a sitting cross-legged. It was quite old due to the wrinkles on its body but the age did not affect the pokemon. _

"_You're late!" the mime barked in fluent english, Arceus had used his strength to grant the Pokemon the ability to speak other languages. The reason being was that the Mime was a mentor for the other Representatives of Creation before Daniel and Bisharp, therefore, it has a better understanding of its powers and how to tap into it. Hence, the Pokemon was Daniel's mentor for the focus training._

"_Running gets exhausting, you can't blame me." Daniel explained, making his way to one of the lower rocks to take a seat._

"_Excuses, is that all you can provide?"_

"_And results?"_

"_Such as?"_

"_Me somehow managing to attend all of my classes."_

"_You think this is a joking manner? Enough, take a seat and we shall begin right away." Daniel did as told and took a seat cross legged and closed his eyes. "Now take the stone and focus, clear your mind of all worries and thoughts and simply relax." The teen pulled out his half of the Arceus Stone and placed it in front of him as he relaxed his muscles. "Good, you've relaxed physically but can you relax mentally?" Daniel tried, he did his best to clear his thoughts of everything and leave his mind blank. However, the waterfall next to him was loud and disturbed his thoughts, he furrowed his brows as a result and took this as a sign that he was unfocused._

_ took a stick and lightly hit the boy on the head, telling him to stop being distracted. Daniel complained, "Well how can I be empty and focus if this waterfall keeps bothering me? I can't focus with this waterfall making so much noise." _

"_And that's the problem, you view this part of a nature as a hindrance, you aren't taking it for what it is: a part of nature. Do not think of it as an obstacle, think of it as the sound of nature, the nature you must protect. Make peace with it, let it soothe you knowing it's serving its purpose. Now, try again, clear yourself of all constraints and thoughts, release yourself of emotion._

_Daniel nodded in acknowledgement, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he listened closely to the waterfall and found peace within it, the waterfall flowing forward and serving its purpose. Despite this, he still couldn't relax and he began to think of something that helps him relax. His thoughts dwelled on the girl he loved, Serena, he imagined himself in her embrace and how comfortable it was. The fantasy caused him to relax and a small smile formed on his face._

_ hit him on the head again which made Daniel curse out loud as a result. The mentor argued, "What are you even doing?! Are you even taking this seriously? What part of 'clear yourself of all constraints and thoughts' did you not understand? Simply thinking makes you tap into any emotion, it can leave you worried and excited, but right now I need you focused. You're testing my patience, boy, try again and like I said, be empty, think of yourself as a shell of sorts." _

"_Okay, okay, I'll try again." Daniel let out a sigh and closed his eyes. He visualized an empty container but miraculously, the visual disappeared and began to think of Serena once more. _

_The teen was punished once more, he was hit on the head and he rubbed it angrily as he looked at his mentor. His mentor yelled, "Again and again! You do this every time! Just what are you still thinking about when I've told you numerous times to be empty?!"_

_In a fit of frustration, Daniel got up and stared down at the and raised his voice, "Well sorry if this is difficult for me! I'm trying, I'm sorry if I'm exhausted and just want to relax after having to do a lot of running then have to get yelled at by some old geezer who keeps repeating the same things! What you guys are asking of me is impossible, I can't remove myself of emotion and forget about all my friends and the people I love, that's just not me! Maybe if we had a more efficient and quicker method of doing this, I would already be using the stone like Bisharp is already!" _

_The was taken aback by the words, shock plastered on his face as it furrowed its own brows, "You're completely missing the point of my teaching, at this rate, you'll never get to use the Arceus Stone. You want a quick method? The answer is simple, you climb the great mountain and once you reach the point, you jump off. Only a true representative will be able to clear his thoughts and channel the power of the stone and survive. But you rejected that idea since day one and yet you keep begging for a faster solution! My methods are not flawed, its my student who stubbornly refuses to let go."_

_Daniel was about to retort until a shadow was cast over the both of them which caused them to stop and look. They saw Arceus, Typhlosion, Andres, and Bisharp standing there and watching. The mentor turned towards Arceus and kneeled, calling out, "My lord." _

"_How goes the training?_" _The Pokemon God questioned, stood up and approached._

_ explained, "My lord, with all due respect, this child isn't ready! He's not worthy of the stone, in my opinion, I feel it would be best to unite both stones and bestow it upon Representative Bisharp, he is worthy." The statement shocked Daniel's friends and they looked at him with a worried expression as they can see his expression full of emotion. _

_Arceus looked upon the teen with disappointment and looked to the mentor, "__I see, this is quite concerning if that's the case. We shall discuss this later, but as of now, you are all dismissed._" _The God vanished in a bright light and began to wander off into the woods. Daniel looked to the floor in shame and realizing he made a mistake by lashing out like that, he clenched his fists as he became angry with himself and understood why his mentor was so frustrated with him._

_Andres walked up with his arms crossed and felt the need to insert, "Good going, you somehow managed to disappoint God, that's an achievement on its own." Andres' remark did not receive a follow up, only a silence as the wind blew against them all. "Anyways, we should rest up, let's head back to our place." Andres motioned for everyone to follow as he led the way. Typhlosion followed his partner and Bisharp began to walk but stopped as he turned towards his brother who remained in place. As his brother, Bisharp knew exactly what Daniel was thinking about and what was bothering him but he didn't know how to help. All the help he could provide is repeat their mentors teachings, and if that wasn't helping Daniel, only he could help himself and it'd be up to him to find his own answer. Bisharp regrettably turned away and began to walk off leaving the teen all by himself in open area. _

_Daniel looked up, past the waterfall and towards the mountain, the jumping point was above him in sight, it appeared small because of how high up it was. That was the fastest method and yet he couldn't bring himself to do it. He feared the climb and he was terrified of jumping off and failing. Daniel looked down towards the ground, realizing he was really a coward. He turned around and headed back with the others._

_The place they stayed at was inside a small cave that could house them all, with some remodelling, they managed to get some flat parts and some other pockets for them to sleep in. It had begun to rain and the other three were asleep in their respective spots but not Daniel. The boy sat near the entrance, looking out towards the island as the cave was situated rather high but not dangerously so. Daniel held his father's jacket close to him, he didn't want it to get damaged or dirty during their time here so he chose to leave the jacket inside of their cave. _

_Daniel held onto it, searching for some sort of comfort but couldn't quite attain it, he observed the individual raindrops pouring down, how the trees remained standing despite this and used the rain to nurture themselves. Bisharp was not asleep however, his concern for his sibling left him awake as he only watched his brother sitting by the entrance by himself. He knew he had to do something, he at least had to try. The Dark Steel Pokemon got up, making his way towards his brother and taking a seat across from him. "You stressed?"_

"_Yeah…" Daniel mumbled, not making eye contact with his brother and simply staring off into the distance. Bisharp looked out as well, attempting to think of something to say but couldn't find it. "How do you do it? I try but it's not enough, I'm not like you Bisharp."_

_Bisharp let out a deep breath, resting his head against the hard rock and formulated an answer, "For me… I.. have a resolve. Something I'm fighting for and keeping me going, it's an integral part of me, I don't need to think about what I'm fighting for, I know, I feel it. As for you… you're constantly thinking about Serena and the others, you worry about them non-stop. I know you march forward on their behalf but with your victory over Samuel... I'm not sure how I could put this but the best way I could describe it is: you've lost your way. You really haven't decided what you want to do, your entire life was spent to defeat one person and now that you've won, you have nothing, nothing pushing you forward, no goal. I know you chose to come with Arceus because it was the right thing to do, you understood the importance of this job and you want to do good. However, you aren't really happy with this, you just got out of a harsh life only to be forced into another with high stakes. I understand how you feel, you have the choice to leave and go back and be with everyone else but knowing you: you won't. That's something special about you, you have a strong sense of integrity, you've always had a thing for it. And though I can't tell you what to do and how you should go about things, the only thing I can say on that behalf is discover what you want to do, think of what you want to fight for and do. Don't let it be a personal or moral obligation, do something YOU want to do, because following obligations your whole life can only get you so far."_

_Bisharp decided to get up, feeling tired now and wanting to rest. As he turned around to walk away, his brother stopped him, "Then what's your motivation? What's keeping you going?"_

"_Mine…? It's mostly you, I think about protecting you and everything I care about, and I willingly want to do this because I care. Don't let the stone guide you, you guide the stone, let it be an extension of you, not the other way around." Bisharp finished, walking to his bed and lying down. Daniel looked to his partner and then back at his father's jacket and murmured to himself, "an extension…"_

_It was the next day and the group had formed up in a line in front of Arceus and . They were out in the open and were being told the plan for the day a decisions that were going to be made. explained, "Child, I'll only give you a few more chances to prove yourself, if you fail me, you're going to have to leave this island."_

_Daniel nodded, "Understood." he felt a bit nervous knowing he only had a few chances left._

"_As for you, Representative Bisharp, due to your advancements with the Stone and your superb mastery of it, you might be sent on your first mission very soon." Bisharp thanked their mentor for the compliment but looked to his brother once more to make sure he was doing okay. He certainly looked better than he did yesterday, so that was a relief to Bisharp. _

_Andres stepped forward, "What of us, sir? Is there anything required of us?"_

"_You will resume your training and assisting Representative Bisharp with his training as well, you two make for an excellent training partner." Typhlosion expressed his thanks as well. However, the entire time, Arceus did not speak and was simply looking off into the distance. Everyone noticed this especially when there was a brief silence and everyone looked towards Arceus. "My lord, is something the matter?"_

_Arceus did not respond, only focusing on something in the distance. Arceus saw a humongous landing craft stop at shore. The ship opened up and dozens, if not hundreds of people marched out. Arceus finally said, "__Yes, there is a problem._" _This confused everyone and they looked around but didn't see anything. They stopped their search when they began to smell smoke from somewhere and looked towards the direction Arceus was looking and their eyes widened when they soon saw a cloud of smoke rising into the air. Pokemon hiding in the forests sprinted for their lives as they emerged from the forest and all moved past the group. It was terrifying for them to see as it was a massive horde of Pokémon escaping and leaving and it was unlike anything they've seen._

_Daniel turned his head towards Arceus with a worried expression and called out, "Arceus…?"_

"_We've been discovered."_

_The men stepped forward with flamethrowers, burning the trees and reducing any life into ash. The area they stood was dark with an orange light illuminating the entire area, all the men had masks protecting them from the deadly fumes. They wore a grey outfit with black gloves and boots to match. A larger man exited the vehicle ordered his men, "Burn the forest, leaving nothing left. We're going to search every bit of this island for those damn creatures and when we find them, they'll be ours for the taking… This is going to be a good hunt." _

"_They're poachers._" _Arceus surmised upon hearing what the man said, everyone gasped and was very surprised._

_Daniel questioned, "Poachers?! How'd they find us?!"_

"_I am not sure but one things is clear: we must protect the life here."_

_ looked towards Bisharp and Typhlosion and told them both, "Things have changed, your first mission shall begin now. Representative Bisharp, your mission is to protect this island at all costs!" Daniel stepped forward and begged to go and assist with the mission as well but the master denied, "No! You're a liability as you are, the only thing you can do is help evacuate the wildlife here and escort them to a safe spot."_

_Daniel argued, "I want to help!"_

"_You can help by doing as I say, now go child! I will not repeat myself." Daniel furrowed his brows, he felt insulted but had to listen. He turned around and ran off in the direction the Pokemon were going with Andres following him. _

_Andres wasn't far behind Daniel and was relatively close, the two ran for a bit. Daniel was dwelling in his thoughts, insulted by the fact he was a liability, those words hurt him more than he thought they would. Daniel became trapped in his thoughts and began to slow down and simply stop running. Andres ran past accidentally but he managed to stop himself as well and walk up towards Daniel. "What are you doing? There's no time for breaks, we got to help evacuate the Pokemon."_

_Daniel didn't lift his head up, looking towards the floor somewhat annoyed, "Andres, is this what I am: a liability?"_

"_Daniel, we don't have time to discuss this, there are more pressing matters at hand." _

"_I need to know Andres, what am I?"_

"_You're a 15 year old who's having an existential crisis." _

"_Really, is that what you see?" _

"_Yeah, now come on." Andres ignorantly said, concerned for the Pokemon and running ahead and looking behind to see Daniel didn't budge from his position. Andres looked at the ground briefly, realizing he needs to take care of this before it becomes worse. He walked back and looked towards his friend. "Look, I'm sorry for acting like an ass… In all honesty, I see a lot of things in you Daniel. A courageous and honest man, a guy that cares about his friends. You fought because of us during the Pokemon League, we were your motivation to move forward and that's what led you to victory, right?"_

"_Yeah… But what now? Now that I'm the Unbeatable Champion, I don't feel anything… I don't really know what to do, I'm a disappointment to Arceus and even our mentor thinks I'm not worthy of becoming a representative." _

_Andres remained silent, carefully choosing his next words as he let out a sigh and placed his hand on his friends shoulder and told him, "We're disappointed because we know you can be better. When all the chips are down and you're backed against the wall, you find a way to get out of it. You have this spark of integrity, tenacity, the will to do the right thing because it's right. I personally don't want to see that go to waste which is why I myself am let down. What you want to do is up to you, but I am letting you know that you're at your best when we're depending on you. And right now, I need you to help me out here, yes, you might not be able to tap into the stone's power but you can still do the right thing and help. So what if you can't do it now? You still got a chance and knowing you? You'll do it, now cheer up, we got Pokemon to save." _

_Andres waited a couple seconds before he heard sniffling from Daniel, the teen looked up and almost wanted to cry. Andres was somewhat disappointed with the fact that the boy wanted to cry now of all times. Andres raised one of his eyebrows awaiting some sort of response from his friend but was greeted to the boy running off in a direction. Andres rolled his eyes and chased after him, groaning to himself, "_Ugh, Dammit Daniel, why do you have to be so emotional?" _He thought as he followed the boy to where he was going._

_Daniel led them towards the waterfall where Daniel did his focus training, Andres was curious as to why he went here. Daniel hopped along the rocks and picked up a sharp stone as he moved to a part of the waterfall where he could see his reflection. Andres stood nearby, wondering what he was going to do. Daniel stared at his reflection, allowing the tears to roll down and he made eye contact with his reflection. Daniel thought to himself, "_Why do I fight? I fight because of my friends, they've always been there for me and I want to protect them all. But I don't have the strength, I am a failure without the strength to protect the ones I care about. It's because of this failure that I've gone against my word and went behind everyone's back, telling myself I would protect them all when I'm useless in reality. That changes today, right now."

_Daniel grabbed ahold of his hair and brought the sharp stone close to it, he closed his eyes and lightly pressed the stone against his hair. "_From this point on, things are going to change, I will no longer be the weak crybaby who complains about his problems. I will no longer be the dog that only barks, no longer a coward… yes… This is who I am, a Representative of Creation." _Andres' eyes widened when Daniel forcefully shoved the rock through and in a swift but painful movement, Daniel cut his hair roughly as his strands of hair glided in the air and blew away. The representative dropped the stone, his hair no longer fell to the left and was half its original size. Daniel let out a sigh, he was in pain but that didn't matter. His eyes shot open as he looked towards the jumping point and clenched his fists. "Andres! Stay right here." _

_Daniel made it to the top, he was out of breath and standing at the edge looking at the drop. On top of his panting, he was doing so to remain calm as his fear kicked in. His legs shook a little bit but Daniel ignored this. He pulled out his half of the Arceus Stone and looked at it with a determined yet concerned expression. He looked away and towards the drop one more time, he readied himself to jump but his entire body was fighting him, his reflexes did not want him to jump and he had to fight it. Daniel shut his eyes as he forced himself forward and leaped off the tall ledge above the large waterfall. _

_Daniel fell, his body flailing and he had no control of his descent. He wanted to scream but he fought his urge to, he continued to fall and the bottom was approaching him quickly. Daniel still didn't open his eyes, he remembered his mentor's teachings and forced himself to take a deep breath to calm down. "_Remember what you're fighting for!" _Daniel yelled to himself, his eyes shot open at this realization and time seemed to slow down for him. His mind was blank as the visuals of all his loved ones flashed in his mind rapidly: Serena, Bisharp, Samuel, The Holy GADZ, Lucas, and his mother. Everything faded to black once more as he was empty beneath and all sense of fear, panic, and dread escaped his mind._

_The stone began to resonate with the boy as it began to light up. A bright outline began to surround Daniel, starting from his head and tracing his arms down to his feet. His eyes slowly lit up and changed color until it became the signature burning red pupils of a Representative. The Representative hurled his body forward and regaining control and shooting his limbs outwards as the blue aura exploded from his body and stopped his descent. The aura created a shockwave which blew in every direction, Andres was hit by the shockwave as he was watching things unfold down below. Andres said to himself, "He did it…"_

_Daniel began to discover himself and who he truly was, thinking to himself, "_This is what I am, my purpose is to protect all those I care about, no matter the cost. They fight for me so I will protect them all!" The teen began to fall once more, he adjusted his body and looked downwards to face the bottom. There were rocks jutting out from the falling stream of water and Daniel prepared himself to evade. With such precision and accuracy, he began to weave around the rocks and use some to spin in place and lunge himself downard even more. The representative began to frantically remember Deoxys advice on how to fly as the ground approached him. Daniel used the last rock to readjust his position and he stopped just above the body of water, the force of him halting causing the water below to shoot upwards and surround him.

Andres watched in awe as his friend was surrounded by water in what could be called a majestical sight. Daniel stopped looking towards the ground and looked up towards Andres menacingly with his red eyes and a serious expression that his friend never thought Daniel would have. Pokemon hiding in the trees emerged and made their presence known as they surrounded both boys, the Pokemon kneeled before Daniel as he began to slowly walk towards Andres. The older boy was taken aback by Daniel's appearance and a bead of sweat formed on his head. It changed when a grin appeared on his face and he questioned his friend, "What's the plan now, Representative?"

Daniel walked past his friend and boldy answered, "I'm joining the fight."

End of Chapter.


	4. Chapter 4, Change: Part 2

_The forest continued to burn because of the poachers. Unleashing the flames from their weapons in hand and causing mass destruction upon the island. Bisharp and Typhlosion were warding off the threat but it didn't stop. In the meantime, more and more Pokemon evacuated the vicinity and retreated to the other side of the island in seek of shelter from the threat. Luckily, Andres is aiding the Pokemon in the evacuation, however, Daniel is not with him. Where was Daniel at the moment?_

_Zipping from tree to tree, Daniel raced towards the action using his newly acquired powers. It was so new to him, he hadn't tapped into it since the battle with Deoxys so he was having a difficult time remembering all of the gimmicks of the Arceus Stone. It was also difficult for him to perform such maneuvers, bouncing from one tree to the next while maintaining his current speed and balance. It required split-second thinking that the Stone aided with it but it was difficult nonetheless. _

_The teen spotted their mentor aiding other Pokemon as they tried to escape. He decided to investigate, making his way out of the trees and into the 's sight. The pokemon diverted its attention away from his business to look upwards and spotting his pupil in the air. The representative landed on his feet but because of how new he was to the whole thing, he stumbled forward just slightly before catching himself. was very surprised to see Daniel with flaring red eyes and his hair spiked upwards. Also considering the descent, the Pokemon's eyes widened at the realization that Daniel had done it. "Y-you tapped into the Stone's power? But how?" _

_Daniel stood up straight, turning to his mentor and answering, "I finally understood what was holding me back and what I had to do. I overcame my fears and transformed." was still baffled by the sudden change as he had seen the boy earlier running off with Andres. then realized that Daniel had disobeyed orders and raised his voice._

"_What are you doing?! You should be helping the pokemon evacuate! We don't have time for talking like this!"_

"_I know I'm disobeying orders to an extent, but I am going to help by going to the front lines and ending this threat."_

"_No! I refuse, your training is yet to be completed, you just tapped into its power! You don't know how to use the Stone, do you understand me?!"_

_Daniel stood there, silent, and looked towards the burning fire and the large cloud of smoke, the bright light of the fire reflecting off his eyes. "I do understand, but… innocent creatures are getting hurt out there, their very homes are being destroyed and you're just telling me to run the other direction? I don't think so, because that's not who I am. It doesn't matter if I'm not trained, It doesn't matter if I don't know how to use the Stone. If there's even a small chance I can end this threat, I have to take it because it's my job as a Representative to protect life. So I don't care what you say, I will protect because I must because that is who I am: a Representative of Creation."_

_The Representative's mentor stood there speechless after hearing Daniel's words, unable to come back with a response. _

"_So I'm going to ask you: are you gonna stop me?" Daniel looked towards his mentor, dropped its head and shook its head in defeat. Acknowledging his mentor's answer, Daniel responds, "I figured… don't worry, I'm not alone." _

_The teen zoomed off towards the action, leaving his master in the dust who couldn't help but stare in awe at what had just transpired._

_By the beach, the poachers screamed in fear as they shot their flamethrowers towards the direction of their enemy, focusing their flames on the target. Bisharp hopped over to one of the men and knocked them back with a punch. The other whipped around blasting his flames but was surprised he didn't hit his target, Bisharp leaped towards the other individual and spun forward and smashing the other person into the ground with a downward kick. The attacks were relatively weak for Bisharp's standards but it was just enough to get the job done using the Arceus Stone. _

_The Representative noticed he had cleared the area of all threats so he decided to go on the move and discover the rest. The flames only got worse, increasing in intensity and heat which made Bisharp sweat. The fumes also did not help and was a testament to how bad the situation is. After a little bit of running around, he discovered a small band of poachers scorching away the forest. Bisharp went on the attack, using Psychic on several of them and throwing them forward. _

_However, as Bisharp finished, he had missed one which was behind who prepared his weapon and readied to fire. The representative turned around, his eyes widening that he wasn't going to be able to dodge in time. Then, Daniel emerged from the burning forest and behind the Poacher. The teen stopped the attacker but throwing his own punch and sending the man forward quickly. Daniel skidded forward just slightly as he attempted to halt his advance. He soon shook his hand from pain as he didn't expect to hit the man as hard as he did._

_Bisharp was surprised to see his brother here, turning fully towards his sibling and immediately understanding what happened. "You dog! You actually did it! I knew you had it in you!" He cheered, walking towards Daniel._

_Daniel smiled, exchanging their iconic fist-bump before Daniel explained, "Yeah, but this is tough though, I'm having a hard time adapting to this power. It all feels so new, I can barely control my new strength and speed." _

"_I know, it's tough at first but I caught on rather quickly and knowing you, it'll take no time at all for you to catch up." _

"_Yeah, but, what are we going to do about these guys? There's so many of them." _

"_We'll deal with them, plain and simple. We won't stop until the threat has been neutralized."_

_They then heard loud stomping heading their direction, they turned towards the origin of the sound and found the Poachers were moving towards them. _

"_There's more on the way, get ready." _

_Daniel brought his arms up in defense and raised a question, "What should I do?"_

"_Just follow my lead and you'll be okay." _

_The brothers got into their readied positions as they await the moment to strike. Once Bisharp gave them the signal, they bolted towards the group. Their advance kicked the sand up into the air as the two Representatives of Creation zoomed forward, trudging through the sand at incredible speeds. Daniel faltered behind Bisharp but still kept up and rather quickly, they were already in front of the Poachers. Bisharp threw a punch at one of them, sending them flying and knocking off their mask. _

_Daniel got close to one, landing several painful strikes before forcefully kicking the individual back. Bisharp grabbed ahold of one and hurled him into another poacher. Daniel jumped over hurled poachers as he descended and slammed his fists into another one ahead. He quickly grabbed ahold of him and spun around, only to toss the man into the air. Bisharp moved next to his brother and stated, "Now, together!" And in sync, they both charged up a body of water and released it into a dual Hydro Pump blasting against the incoming enemies. _

_After they were finished, the fallen poachers struggled to get up but managed to stand up on their feet. They brought up their weapons and readied it to fire, the Representatives smirked and prepared themselves to continue. _

_The poachers unleashed their flames towards the two, Daniel running towards them but staying out of range of the flames. Bisharp tapped into the Stone's power as he summoned upon its power to control the ocean next to it, generating a tall wave. The poachers screamed in fear as the waves crashed into the Beach and collapsing forward and washed up the poachers. Daniel used the Stone's power to surf on the wave just slightly before forcing himself off and kicking another poacher mid-air. He zoomed from one poacher to the next while racing against the crashing tides of the wave. When it looked like he was about to get hit, Daniel leaped into the air above the wave as he watched the chaos ensued. The ocean reaching out into the forest and putting out a small chunk of the flames and washing up the Poachers it caught. _

_The ocean drew back revealing the beach once more as Daniel landed and crashed to his knees. The teen was unphased by this because the sand reduced the impact, he got up and found more heading his way. He experienced slight dizziness as he tried to process everything that was going on, from the burning fumes of the forest, the adrenaline flowing through his blood, the sweat. Daniel snapped out of his gaze as his partner placed his hand on Daniel's shoulder._

_They nodded as they prepared themselves for one more attack. Together, they charged up another Hydro Pump and when they released it, they shouted in unison as their attacks combined to create an even larger blast of water. The attack hit everyone else in the vicinity,defeating all enemies at hand. _

_They both let out a sigh and attempted to catch their breaths, the more they inhaled, the worse it became. They heard a large sound coming in the direction of the ocean, they turned towards it only to be surprised by something they thought they would never see. A massive ship emerged and it was humongous, spanning from one end of the area to the next, it appeared as a massive wall that couldn't be overcome. A loud sound originated from the ship and the brothers soon realized several smaller vessels were approaching the shore. _

"_That's the source, we take it out, we finish this." Bisharp deduced, entering a fighting stance as he observed the smaller ships coming in. Daniel turned to his brother and then the ship, trying to figure out a solution and realized they had to get to the ship, but there was quite a bit of distance between them. The landing crafts made it and stopped at the shore, the Representatives prepared themselves for more flamethrower-wielding grunts but were treated to a surprise. The hatches of the landing craft dropped down and out came several large grey mechs. The mechs moved via Treads and had two gargantuan arms with claws for hands. Most importantly, the torso was a cockpit containing a visible human pilot._

_The brothers were shocked by the unveil but had no time to react as those same mechs rolled towards them and attacked right off the bat. The representatives ducked and weaved out of the way of every attack made towards them, but it was tense. The machines were loud and and their constant rolling shook the area causing the ground beneath them to tremble. Bisharp found an opportunity to strike and shot for it, he zoomed towards one and landed a powerful strike._

_Unfortunately, it managed to dent the metal armor and dealt no serious damage. Bisharp backed off and continued to avoid the attacks, he realized he would require more power if he wanted to do some remote damage to the robots. As for Daniel, he realized that if Bisharp couldn't do much, he had no chance at all and would only break his arm trying to do anything. The realization made him more evasive and he bobbed around every swing, the large arms caused constant shifts in the air and generated a significant amount of force. _

_Daniel did a few back handsprings and unleashed an ice beam and fired it towards the shoulder joint of one of the mechs. As expected, the arm was completely halted for several seconds before the ice completely shattered and the arm was free. Daniel cursed to himself as he had no time to avoid a hit and braced. He heard loud stomping approaching from behind and stopping in front of him as he heard the arm stop in place. It was Typhlosion who was holding back the arm with his own. Typhlosion's was shaking slightly from the sheer effort but he managed to slowly push it back as he growled intensely._

_Typhlosion whipped his head upwards and built up his flames, the machine stopped moving and the pilot inside smirked confidently. "Go ahead and try frying our suits, our Pokemon Busters are meant to withstand everything!" The pilot mocked. Instantaneously, Typhlosion unleashed a bright beam of flames blasting across the top of the mech. Everyone in the vicinity felt the intensity of the flames as Daniel and Bisharp were already sweating within a second of the attack. _

_The suit dropped its arms and the very top half of the machine was melted away, leaving melted metal dripping on the cockpit and revealing the pilot, now hairless and profusely sweating, curled up into a ball. Typhlosion reached inside, grabbing the pilot and bringing him to eye level, "Everything except for me." As he dropped the poor man and let him crash into the sand. All other hostiles backed away slowly as the incinerated mech powered down and dropped its arms and shut down entirely. _

_They were filled with rage as two rushed towards Typhlosion and threw their own punches. Typhlosion caught both of theirs but was pushed back slightly,making the fire Pokemon fall back. Bisharp zipped towards the arm with green electricity surrounding him and he smashed his fist into the robotic arm as hard as he could, completely shattering the metal and freeing Typhlosion. With his other arm available now, the flame Pokemon guided the other mech forward and with his other arm, toppled it off its treads and forcing the mech into the ground. The glass for the cockpit shattered and the pilot fell out screaming in pain. _

_Daniel understood he had no chance against the robots and looked to the ship once more and understood what he needed to do. "I need to get on the ship and end this." Daniel declared towards his comrades, Bisharp spun around instinctively and refused Daniel's declaration, not wanting the teen to go alone. "Would you rather have me breaking my bones trying to hurt these guys or go on the ship and deal with humans?"_

"_Touche" Bisharp responded._

"_Can you get me on the ship?"_

"_Yeah, I can."_

"_Then let's do it."_

_A uniformed man stood atop the ship with binoculars, observing the events unfolding until he saw something approaching rapidly. He couldn't quite make it out and removed his binoculars and squinted his eyes. Daniel, like a bullet crashed into the man and sent him flying back. The teen coughed in pain but smiled realizing he was on the ship now but didn't have time to celebrate. A person nearby saw what happened and pulled out a gun and aimed it towards the teen. "_Oh Shit!" _Daniel cursed, rolling out of the way before the man could fire his pistol. Daniel stood up and quickly used Psychic to grab ahold of the pistol and rip it out of the man's hands. He then knocked the man unconscious and investigated the top of the ship. It was overwhelming to say the least, it was a massive open area with smaller buildings atop, numerous gadgets and machines atop that the teen could barely identify and most importantly, way too many people looking at him. _

_The boy screamed as he avoided the hail of bullets and he found some cover behind a building, the armed personnel continued firing near Daniel, he was surprised by how loud the guns were, it nearly made him deaf just hearing the onslaught of bullets being fired. With no other way out of the situation, he looked down to the floor and considered his options and decided to take a chance. He placed his hand on the floor and concentrated his strength to generate a focused beam. He began to slowly drill into the floor in the hopes of getting out and finding another way to tackle the situation at hand. _

"_He's hiding behind here!" Someone yelled and a flurry of footsteps came closer. Daniel begged he could accomplish this faster as he began to sweat but his prayers were answered once he managed to cut a small hole in the floor for him to fit through. The teen jumped in right away and escaped the dicey situation, he found himself in a long hallway with several doors and signs which indicated the direction of important rooms and sections. He needed to act fast and looked around frantically through the signs, he wasn't sure what he was looking for but he searched anyways until his eyes glanced over the word 'Power'. He read the full thing and knew where to go and what he had to do. With a new objective on his mind, he set out towards the Power room to shut down this whole operation._

_The representative attempted to open the door but it required a passcode and identification, he cursed to himself but looked to the two unconscious guards next to him and began searching through one of them. He found what he needed and entered the room, it was another massive room with a generator that might as well have been its own building. _

_There were workers everywhere managing the systems connected and they turned to the door and called out "Intruder!" , some pulled out their weapons and out of instinct, Daniel used his powers to remove the weapons from their grasp and didn't want to knock anyone else out so he resorted to make a bluff, "Don't make a move! Make one and I'll kill you where you stand!" He declared, "_That's a lie" _He assured himself and everyone in the room froze in place as Daniel began to freely roam and looked at the screens. It was nothing but words and numbers and colors that he couldn't understand. "How do I shut this off?" _

"_Are you stupid?! You think we'd tell you?!" one of them insulted but was met with Daniel snapping back with a glare._

"_Do you want to be killed? Then I suggest you tell me how to shut it off." "_I can't believe this is working!" _Fortunately, one of the workers finally spoke up and Daniel made his way over to listen. As Daniel was told how each of the systems managed the machines, that worker made certain hand signals to his friend nearby who inched his way closer to the alarm until he managed to smash the button and sound it. The blaring red lights of the alarms all activated and the room was consumed with a ringing noise which hurt everyone's ears. All the workers away from Daniel bolted out of the room while the rest attempted to tackle the teen. It proved ineffective as Daniel dispatched of them quickly as they had no weapons at hand. With no real knowledge of how to manage the machines, he took a major gamble and used his powers to slice across the entire console, causing sparks to shoot out of it uncontrollably and soon the room became much more quiet and darker as the generator shut off._

_The bright lights of the ship were now replaced with a dim red light and eerie sounds. The entire ship began to sway slightly and this was the cue for Daniel that he needed to get off before he went down with the ship. He bolted out of the room and along the corridors, he didn't know where he was going or what he was looking for because he signs were unreadable with the dim light nor did he have the time to look. _

_Bisharp and Typhlosion had just finished dealing with all of the mechs and rounded up the pilots into one spot to keep an eye on all of them. Bisharp heard rustling in the bushes which made him whipped his head in that direction and emerged their mentor who looked exhausted. "Master, what are you doing here?" Bisharp quired, looked Bisharp in the eye and answered._

"_I'm here to make sure Daniel is okay, he ran off on his own to help you out and I can't let him get hurt, not on my watch… where is he?" answered, they heard a siren sound from the ship and watched it as it slowly began to drift. _

"_He actually did it… well, he's currently on that boat doing what he can."_

"_WHAT?! You let him go alone?! How could you?!" Before Bisharp could respond, he looked to the boat once more and saw it was getting closer and closer to the shore. His eyes widened as he realized it was in a direct course for the shore._

"_EVERYONE, GET AWAY NOW!"_

_Daniel had finished cleaning through a hallway of grunts, panting from nearly getting killed because of their weapons but managed not to get hit. All of their bodies lay on the floor on top of each other unconscious. He rubbed his eyes as he tried to regain his senses and compose himself as he continued down the hall. He ran as fast as he could mindlessly, the only thing on his mind was that he had to go up. After he turned a corner, the gigantic ship soon jolted as it impacted, the crash causing the entire ship to shake uncontrollably and knocking everyone off their feet. Unfortunately for Daniel, he fell back with immense force and got a concussion from hitting the wall and passed out as his eyes closed but the ship continued to rumble. _

_Bisharp was carrying their master when it hit, Typhlosion was carrying all of the pilots until the area shook slightly and they turned. The ship was slowly ripping through, its momentum rapidly slowing down as it rammed through the sands and cut into the forest, destroying everything it rammed into. Everyone cursed to themselves as they witnessed the ship finally stopped and everything became quiet except for the hundreds of flying Pokemon fleeing from the scene._

_ interrupted the silence, "We need to check on Daniel! We have to get on the ship and get him out!" _

"_Right!" Bisharp responded, leaving the large flame Pokemon behind and making his way towards the gigantic vessel._

_The teen's eyes cracked upon slowly until he regained full consciousness and felt the pain coming from his head. He winced and pushed himself up, he had a massive headache and he kept feeling his head until he reached something warm, he looked and saw his own blood staining his hand. The representative cursed to himself, getting up and looking around. He tried to walk but lost his balance and collapsed against the wall, he used the wall as a support as he trudged through. _

_The teen wasn't even aware of where he was going, he was just moving until he was bumped into something. He snapped back into reality and backed up, he couldn't see anything, it was completely dark where he was and he looked around. The representative used his powers to create a ball of light and shot it upwards, it exploded like fireworks and lit up the entire room for a second revealing that he had just bumped into one of the mechanized suits. It wasn't just one however, it was several, dozens upon dozens. But he couldn't be sure because the light was gone now and it was dark once more. _

_Soon, sun-light emerged from the ceiling as it began to split in two, two large panels separated and revealing more and more of the sun, it forced the boy to cover his eyes and slowly get adjusted to the light. Once he was adjusted, his eyes widened at the number of mechs in the room with the pilots inside all looking at him._

_A voice was soon heard on a speaker system in the room and it echoed, "So… you're the brat who's downed my ship? I'm impressed, kids are becoming more and more dangerous these days, however… You've also helped me out in a way, kid." The floor rumbled as the large platform they were on lifted upwards leading to the top of the ship. "Now that the ship's by the shore, I can mobilize ALL of my units to hunt down those pesky Pokemon! You hear that men? Go out and hunt those damn Pokemon!" _

_All of the pilots cheered as their mechs mobilize and drove off. Daniel reached out in a strange attempt to stop them but it was too late, they mobilized too fast. "_How does the ship still have power?! I shut down the generator… It must have a back-up generator! I'm an idiot, how come I didn't think about that?!"

"_And as for you, kid, allow me to introduce myself… My name is Adrian, I'm the captain of this ship and my merry band of poachers and you have trashed a fortune. I normally would go easy on kids but you're an exception, feel special yet? I'm going to make you pay for trashing my ship!" _

_Another platform soon rose from the ground unveiling another mech suit but this one was different. Emerging from a ship, was a much larger mech a little over the size of a two-story building. It was multi-colored and filled to the brim with multiple little gadgets and machines that served different purposes. _

"_Allow me to introduce my friend, the Dragonite Buster, this suit was specifically made to handle the Dragonites and other pesky Pokemon the regular mechs can't handle. I daresay this baby can handle the likes of Groundon if I so desired!" _

_Daniel cursed to himself once more, debating on how he should handle the situation, he can't remotely handle a smaller mech so handling this beast is not even a question. He continued to formulate plans but a headache came back to strike him and he held onto his head and rubbed it. _

"_Now then… let's have some fun, I'm going to pulverize you!" The Dragonite Buster's arm swooped down low in an attempt to hit Daniel, the movement of its joints was loud and caused the headache to become worse. Daniel let go of his head, looking to the monstrosity and moving out of the way as a quick strike swept past him, the force generated from the swing picked up enough air to push the teen back and make him lose balance. He quickly got back on his feet but was overcome with vertigo causing him to get dizzy and get out of control with his balance. His head was burning more than ever and by the time he regained himself, it was too late._

_Daniel was sent flying like a bullet, being knocked over several dozens feet and skidding across the floor until he crashed into a wall at full force. The boy was planted into the wall and peeled off and collapsed onto the floor like a corpse. His body was bloodied and bruised with his clothes being tattered and destroyed after the hit. The teen slowly opened his eyes, the pain made him cry and he attempted to breath but found he couldn't. He rolled over and began to cough out blood, staining the floor and leaving his breathing irregular until he once more, passed out. _

_He woke up, face in the ground still and covered in his own blood, his pain was somewhat elevated and he partially felt better but nothing significant. He rolled over on his back and managed to breathe properly, thought it felt like he was partially gasping for air. He was trying to piece together what had happened and he slowly remembered. Once he remembered Adrian and the mechs were loose, he shot up and fought the vertigo. Not only did the vertigo hurt, his stomach and chest were aching in pain as well and although it was intense, he could get used to it but made a mental note to not get hit in that area anymore. _

_He heard the sound of fighting coming from nearby, he looked but he couldn't see what was happening. Out of instinct, he began to make his way there, one foot in front of the other. He left a trail of blood as he ventured forth, drop of blood with every step. Fortunately, he regained more of himself and he began to walk normally before he entered a light jog but his chest still hurts. He then saw several parts of the ship destroyed and from further away, he saw Bisharp zipping around avoiding something. Daniel gathered his bearings completely and entered a full sprint, the closer he got, he noticed it had quieted down all of a sudden. This made him fear the worst and he hurried even more, he sprinted despite the pain, he continued until he was there._

_Bisharp stood atop of a building, frozen in place, staring at the mech angrily. Daniel looked to the mech which had taken a bit of damage with several dents, as he looked the Dragonite Buster up and down, he saw their mentor within the clutches of Adrian. "Master!" Daniel cried out, the cry caught both fighters attentions and made them look towards the teen._

_Adrian mocked "Well would you look who it is, I'm surprised you even survived. You must be some sort of freak, perhaps worthy enough of hanging on my wall of trophies." _

_Bisharp stepped forward, calling out "Bastard!" but he was once again stopped in his tracks once Adrian exclaimed:_

"_Don't bother making a move, either of you, or else your little friend here is going pop like a balloon. Wouldn't that be a sight to see?" The threat made Daniel growl slightly but there was nothing either of them could do at the moment, Adrian was in control, not them. So this is what it's like being a representative of creation, humanity is certainly terrifying with its creations, perhaps Arceus has a right to be wary. "So, what will you do now? You might as well let me kill you, I guarantee you will get a swift and painless death, you've earned that much."_

_ was in pain but managed to raise his voice enough for his students to hear, "Don't worry about me… both of you… just protect the island, that's what's important…" _

_Daniel shot back, "No! I'm gonna get you out of this because it's my job as a Representative of Creation! Count on it."_

_Adrian mocked once more, "Oh how sweet, my heart almost melted… however, that's not quite how life works, does it? I almost pity how naive you are, and for that, I'll just return your friend my way!" And in that instant, The DB (Dragonite Buster) raised its arms and slammed it downward as he let go of , practically throwing him into the floor. Bisharp cried out as he reached out but he wasn't fast enough._

_Time slowed down for Daniel as he watched everything unfold, the DB letting go of and their mentor launching towards the ground. Daniel didn't know what he felt or what happened in that moment because it happened too fast. Green electricity shot out from his body for a second and he vanished. Bisharp cried out once more, "MASTER!"_

_Daniel caught their master right before he made an impact with the ground, the representative moved so fast he was practically a blur. was surprised to see Daniel moving this way but he wasn't done. Daniel whipped around toward his brother and screamed his name as he chucked their master towards the other Representative. Bisharp managed to catch their master and put him down as they both observed. Daniel continued going forward, he couldn't stop because he launched himself forward so fast. Adrian called out, "Ha! I knew you'd take the bait you pissant!" The DB brought its arm down upon Daniel and flattened him where he was as the arm crashed into the ground. Bisharp was speechless as his heart dropped at the sight of his brother being flattened. _

_Adrian laughed hysterically until blue lighting started to trace up the buster's arm. The Buster's arm jolted up ever so slightly, then again until it became repeated with more force each time. The captain threw his eyebrows up and his eyes were wide with shock as he observed his creation being pushed back._

_Daniel screamed at the top of his lungs, his throat being destroyed by the intensity of his screams, "I'll never let you hurt my friends, NEVER! Even if it means killing myself! 50% Arceus Stone, Go!" And with one blast, the arm of the DB was knocked upwards revealing the young representative engulfed in blue electricity. Daniel's muscles were incredibly tense, it felt like his body was naturally being pulled behind him and he was constantly pulling back. The teen gritted his teeth as he hopped up into the air to meet Adrian eye for an eye. Adrian threw a straight punch towards Daniel, the teen responded just the same in a blind reflex. _

_The two punches connected but Daniel's won and generated a powerful shockwave from the impact as the arm of the DB caved in on itself and moved the creation back. Daniel however, busted open his arm and breaking it, causing him to bleed even more, but the overflowing adrenaline covered up the pain for now. The representative landed on the floor and stomped around the DB quickly as he charged up a ball of energy in his left hand. Adrian refused to give up, spinning the mech's body around for a low hook to his Daniel. The teen countered by spinning around and curving the focused blast towards the incoming punch which exploded against the DB._

_Daniel did a backflip over the still-incoming hook which was now removed of its claw and a partially damaged arm. Bisharp took the liberty of finish Daniels work and unleashing an attack into the remaining arm and destroying it. He soon hopped down and joined his partner side by side as they stood in front of the gigantic mech. Hatches popped open from the mech and projectiles shot out directing themselves towards the Representatives. They began to move, moving around each of the projectiles that came their way. In the meantime, Adrian was backing away from the two as they approached quickly, all he could do is unleash every possible attack the Dragonite Buster could unleash._

_Once they had avoided every attack, the two brothers formed up and leaped towards the mech and brought their arms back. Their arms were coated first in an orange light and soon in a familiar magenta color as their arms locked. "_Together!" _They thought and once they were within range, they shouted in unison, "DOUBLE BLOOD MOON SLASH, VARIANT THREE!"_

_Their combined punches caused the mech to cave in on itself and when it stopped, it fell apart from a followed up X-shaped slash demolishing the remains of the robot and creating an explosion. The representatives landed on their feet and exchanged their iconic fist bump as they marvelled at their work. Unfortunately, Daniel's body gave out and he collapsed to the ground, he wasn't unconscious but his body gave up on him. _

_Bisharp got on his knees and sat his sibling on him, Bisharp understanding Daniel's current pain and giving him a chance to rest. After a bit, their mentor had made his way over to Daniel and looked him up and down and commented, "You foolish boy! Don't ever pull a stunt like that again, you hear me?!" Daniel smiled, giving his master a thumbs up of approval which relieved the Pokemon and made him smile just the same._

_From the rubble of the Dragonite Buster, Adrian emerged a mess, covered in blood and bruised and burnt all over. He rolled out of his barely in-tact cockpit and landed on the floor painfully, he looked up towards the little group with pure rage. He muttered to himself, "You damn bastards… you ruined everything… I'll make you pay…" He reached into his back pocket and grabbed ahold of his pistol and pulled it out. _

_ looked to the rubble to observe their work but his eyes were wide with shock when he saw Adrian aiming his gun towards Daniel. _

"_Die you bastard…" Adrian referred to the teen, looked towards Daniel and back at the gun and out of instinct, he pushed both brothers out of the way as the gun fired. _

_ 's expression was wide with pain as the bullet passed through and blood shot out from the hole. The representatives expressions were filled with dread as Daniel forced himself up and caught their master before he could hit the floor. Bisharp whipped around towards Adrian and in a sheer fit of rage, use psychic on him and forced him unconscious._

"_Master!" Daniel called out, barely holding up the Pokemon as the gaping hole let out more and more and blood. Bisharp hurried over and got down across from his brother as the two pupils stared in sorrow towards their dying master. The Pokemon was having a hard time breathing, gasping for air and coughing as a result. "Don't worry, master, you're gonna be okay, we're gonna get you some help." _

_ already accepted his fate and responded, "no…."_

"_What?"_

"_You must… listen to me… There is something… I must say to you…"_

"_Don't talk right now, you're gonna be okay! I swear…"_

_ brought his arm up as if to hush the teen, his face slowly becoming pale as he murmured, "I never meant to be hard on you… I just wanted you to be better… I worried about you a lot because I cared… but now I don't have to…" Daniel felt the tears welling up in his eyes as he refused to let his master go like this, and shook their mentor as he started to look more lifeless._

"_No! Don't go! There's still so much I need to learn about the Arceus Stone!"_

"_Everything else I could teach you… you… already… know…" Their mentor lost the strength to hold his arm as it dropped to the floor and his head fell back and all life drained from the Pokemon's body. Daniel felt his heart sink into his stomach, he was in denial and repeatedly shook their masters corpse as if to wake him up. He begged for their master to not leave but he was no longer in denial and accepted what had happened and allowed the tears to flow down his red cheeks. Bisharp, too was crying as he scooped up the corpse in his arms and stood up. Daniel got up, wiping his eyes as they made their way to the edge of the ship. _

_They were greeted loud chanting from all of the Pokemon on the island, all the Pokemon chanting for them with Typhlosion in front along with Andres, and Arceus all the way in the back. Daniel looked to the ground in dismay, taking a deep breath and holding his head up as he took in the sound of cheers from the pokemon._

_Several months later…_

"_Your training is complete."_ _Arceus stated, in front of him were the four men: Bisharp, Typhlosion, Daniel, and Andres. Each of them covered in their own unique scars and each of them built up physically more than they were before. Their expressions more stern and serious than a couple months ago, they were no longer the same fools with little experience. Each of them were men. _

"_Thank you." They said, nothing changing between them as they awaited Arceus' command._

"_Now for your mission… You are aware of your duties as Representatives of Creation, protect life at all costs. Just like there is Creation, there is Destruction such as Giratina, my brother, and his representatives as well. With the four of you as my representatives, the balance between life and death has been shaken and not by choice. To balance this, Giratina must find his own representative but my brother has been in hiding for quite some time now and it is hard to say whether he has found his own representative or not. So, my mission for you is to discover the whereabouts of the Giratina Stone and make sure there is a Representative of Destruction, but do not engage in conflict, if there are two things you must do at all times, it is the following: Always protect life, never engage against destruction… do you understand?"_

"_Yes." _

"_Very good, then you are dismissed for now-"_

_Bisharp interrupted, speaking up and requesting, "However, I would like to search for the Stone on behalf of Daniel and I. I would formally request that Daniel returns home to protect the life there." _

_Everyone looked towards the Pokemon in shock and Daniel questioned, "Are you sure?" _

"_I'm certain this is what I want because it's the right thing to do. Will you permit this, my lord?" After a minute of consideration, Arceus agreed to the suggestion and allowed this. Bisharp and Daniel grew excited and happy as they exchanged their fist bumps, Arceus reminded Daniel to obey his duty no matter what and Daniel obliged. _

_A bit of time has passed after that and everyone is getting ready to leave now. They had formed up in a circle to have their last conversation before leaving. Daniel spoke, "Well… I guess we're leaving again." _

_Andres commented, "It won't be so bad, we'll get used to it."_

"_Maybe, but the fact remains that we've all been together for the last couple months so it's going to be somewhat rough having to leave y'all like this."_

_Bisharp joked, "Being a representative in general is rough, I thought you knew this." _

_Typhlosion added, "Exactly, you knew what you were signing up for." Daniel smiled, turning around and walking away a bit and looked out towards the sun as a gentle breeze blew against him. Daniel explained, "I'm grateful to you all for getting me to this point in my life, the only thing I wish is that our master could've been here to see this moment. But, there's no time for that now, I have a future to look forward to, and as long as we have each other and our teachings, we're going to be just fine, right?" _

_Everyone agreed, at that moment, Arceus appeared near them, waiting for all of them to be ready to go. Daniel turned around, smirking, as he made his way towards his fellow representatives and looked at each of them. "So I guess this is goodbye for now. Bisharp, Andres, Typhlosion… stay safe. And remember, if you ever need help, you know who to go to." _

_As if in a ritual, everyone place their hands on each others shoulders and nodded towards Arceus to take them away. Their bodies lit up and began to distort rapidly, their bodies disappearing from the feet first making its way upward. Just when it reached their heads, Daniel had one last comment._

"_See you on the other side."_

Daniel finished, opening his eyes and realized most of the gang was already fast asleep, Serena resting her head on his shoulder and quietly snoring. Daniel looked around at everyone and smiled, resting his head back on the couch and closing his eyes, "_It's good to be back…_"


	5. Chapter 5, The Conspiracy Begins

It was the next day and everyone had woken up, all the guests for the reunion had left leaving only the Barsony family with the Ferris. Everyone was content with their morning until they heard knocking coming from the door. Samuel had gone to investigate only to be met with Officer Jenny standing in front of the door. The officer had this to say, "Samuel Barsony, we would like your assistance with an upcoming investigation, could you join us?" Samuel was shocked by the news to say the least and pressed on for the officer to be more specific. The officer explained, "After the recent happening with the humanoid Pokemon now confirmed dead, our investigation team has been on the lookout for any other potential suspects. This leads us to a link we discovered along with a lead we tracked."

Samuel asked what it is and was answered with, "recently for the last couple months now, our team had been monitoring Lumiose City and noticing a mass disappearance of the homeless inhabitants in the area, we've been unable to find them until recently when we had discovered a creature taking away an innocent bystander in the woods and have confirmed a location. We are unsure yet if this is the definitive location of the victims but we want to make an investigation with your help, specifically, we would like the assistance of Deoxys in the events this gets nasty."

Samuel was surprised by the shocking info but chose to aid the officers with their investigation. The officer finished her business, providing a place and time for Samuel to meet up and assist with the situation. Jenny left, leaving the families by themselves and Samuel considering the risks of this mission. Daniel joined his brother and questioned what he was talking about, the older sibling informed the representative of the problem and thought to himself. In that moment, Daniel volunteered to go along and help out, realizing this is a part of his mission as a representative. Samuel was reluctant at first but remembering his capabilities as a fighter now, accepted the offer and opted to bring the teen along.

Serena had caught wind of what was going on and begged Daniel not to go, not wanting to see him get hurt. Appreciating the concern, the boy dismissed the girls concern and assuring her he'll be fine. Serena was left disappointed and left to worry even more about her crush entering a situation he barely has knowledge of. With all distractions aside, the two brothers set off towards the investigation.

Daniel and Samuel walked alongside a team of officers as they slowly traversed the forest. The officer's Growlith leading the way as they used their senses to spot the location. Everyone was on guard, looking out behind occasionally to make sure they weren't being watched or followed. They continued like this for several minutes until they had stopped and the building was now in site. It was obscured by the trees and wouldn't be noticeable upon first glance. The building was old and decrepit, the walls were chipped and cracked, and entire sections of it were knocked out. Daniel asked the officers if this was the place but before they can respond, their Pokemon got defensive and began to growl furiously. They looked towards the entrance of building which was obscured by darkness. Daniel received the response he needed and looked to his brother who then took out Deoxys.

Daniel then said to Deoxys, "All right, let's go in." The boy and the Pokemon began to walk forward past the officers and walked towards the menacing structure. The officers told the boy to stay back but Samuel assured them that he could handle himself just fine with Deoxys at his side. Daniel turned around and stated, "If we don't come back out, I want you guys to get backup because if we can't handle what's inside, then you're going to need a lot more than just a couple officers." The teen nodded towards the psychic Pokemon and advanced. Samuel, despite being confident about their abilities, was concerned nonetheless and the entire situation made him feel uneasy. Regardless, they chose to follow behind and provide support from behind.

The two fighters entered the building without hesitation and noticed immediately all the dust that had accumulated inside. The building was completely silent and devoid of all life. The team decided to split up and search the structure for any clues. Daniel was now by himself, walking into unseen spiderwebs which would stagger him briefly as he attempted to brush it off. The air was stuffy and of a strange odor, nothing heavy but it was strange nonetheless. The structure was larger than he anticipated and he ended up walking around for several minutes until he heard something.

Someone was crying nearby, he didn't know who but the cries echoed through the hallway, it was difficult for the representative to decipher the location of the sound besides the fact it was closeby. This made the teen uneasy as he wasn't sure if it was a trap or not, but he knew he had to investigate. He continued searching around every corner until he discovered a young man curled up into a ball against the wall. Daniel raised an eyebrow and slowly peeked into the room even more. The sunlight revealed the man to be filthy and dirty. The teen entered the room deliberately and caught the attention of the young man who frantically looked up at him. "D-don't! Don't come any closer!" The man cried out.

Daniel was taken aback by the response and took it easy, attempting to ease the man, "Easy there, I'm not one of them. I'm here to help you."

"How do I know that? For all I know, you could be tricking me! You're luring me into a trap!"

"No, I'm not, I'm here with the police to save you."

"You don't stand a chance!"

"And why do you say that?"

"These… these _things_ are unlike anything i've ever seen! They're not human, I tell you!"

"It's going to be okay, can you get up?"

The man shook his head no, Daniel asked why but took a look at the floor. There was a trail of dried up blood leading to the man. Daniel asked why the blood is there and to his dismay, the man revealed his leg. A deep cut wound across his calf, slicing it open and cutting deep into his muscles. "They did this to me when I tried to escape, I'm telling you now, you need to get out of here!"

"I told you I won't."

"I'm telling you to get out of here now!"

A crashing noise sounded from above as a creature crashed through the ceiling and toppling the teen. The sudden impact made the Arceus Stone fall out of the boys pocket and skid across the room as the creature stood atop him. He was picked up by the neck and slammed into the wall. He couldn't identify what pokemon this was but it had claws. The creature brought its arm back in an attempt to stab the teen, luckily, the boy's reflexes kicked in quickly and he struck the creature across the face with as much strength as he could muster in his non-powered state. The hit staggered the creature for a second and making it let out a nasty breathed roar. The pokemon lugged the boy across the room and grabbed ahold of the bleeding young man. The victim screamed in fear as he was ripped from his position and the pokemon ran off with the man.

Daniel snatched the stone and got up on his feet as he zoomed out of the room in pursuit. He followed the sound of the man's screams as it got further away. The representative got worried and hurried even more until he had reached a large room with a door. There, the creature stood with one arm around the man's neck and the claw pointed towards the head. Daniel hesitated, unsure of his next move as the man begged to be free. The teen heard scurrying behind him and two howls behind him. The teen was prepared this time, using the power of the Arceus Stone, he whipped around and dispatched a creature lunging towards him and hurling him towards his partner. The pokemon crashed into the wall next to his partner and hurried to his feet. Within seconds, Deoxys and the others made it to Daniel's position where they were surprised to witness the current scene happening.

Both of the creatures with the hostage escaped behind the door without closing it and hurried into darkness. Daniel knew he couldn't leave the man to those things and had to follow despite the danger, he nodded towards Deoxys and he got the message. The others stayed behind this time as the two fighters stepped into darkness and closing the door behind them. Once the door closed, the lights to the room turned on and they were greeted with a pleasant surprise. They were in a large storage room and they were not alone, around twenty other creatures were positioned in the room, all eyes on the two fighters.

Daniel popped his knuckles and said to Deoxys, "So, this is their main hideout? Well I'll be, I didn't expect this… nonetheless, let's clean house."

Every creature in the room leapt towards them, Daniel did forward handsprings and hopped into the air as he met one of the creatures mid-leap. The teen used his Arceus Stone power to grab ahold of the creature's shoulders and spin as he slammed the creature into a nearby box. Daniel wasn't going to underestimate these creatures this time and tapped into 25% of his power unleashing the stone's green electricity. The teen landed in front of the destroyed box and two more Pokemon charged at him from behind. The teen whipped around and kicked one of them in the side, the force of the kick being powerful enough to knock both of them down.

Deoxys stretched his arms out and caught two of the creatures mid-air and wrapped his arms around their necks, choking them. The psychic Pokemon slammed the creatures into each other and spun around quickly as he released the two targets and shooting them out like a projectile into the wall. Another Pokemon charged directly towards Deoxys but was frozen in place by psychic as the legendary Pokemon lifted his head with glowing blue eyes. The Pokemon began to sweat ferociously before passing out and collapsing on the floor.

Some of the remaining pokemon circled around Daniel and approached all at once. The representative managed to bob and weave out of every attack and land several consecutive hits on each of the targets, knocking some of them unconscious. A larger pokemon swung towards Daniel and instinctively, the teen grabbed ahold of another one and threw them into the incoming punch, knocking them out.

Deoxys grew tired of dealing with the weaklings and concentrated all of his psychic power to grab ahold of every Pokemon in the room and lifting them into the air, suddenly halting the fight. Daniel watched in awe as they were all lifted up towards the ceiling, and in one swift movement, were all slammed into the floor and denting it. This effectively made all of the creatures faint and just like before, they began to deform and become humans, but this time, they didn't die and no foam came out this time. The bodies lay on the floor consisted of adults of different ages, each now bruised and unconscious after the fight and lying within the dents.

Daniel and Deoxys checked each of the bodies to see anything abnormal but they were completely normal and fine, this left the two suspicious but they needed to keep checking. Deoxys looked around and saw one of the Pokémon from before hiding behind a door frame and when it noticed it was spotted, it scurried off. Deoxys pointed out for the teen, "we got a straggler."

"I'll get him." Daniel responded, hopping to his feet and running after the Pokémon. They ran through an expansive hallway and made a turn into another room. Daniel slid into the room and his eyes widened when he saw a dozen people tied up by rope and lined up across the wall and two to three large capsules storing a person inside. In front of them all, the Pokémon looked around frantically as he stood in front of his partner, the one holding the young man from earlier captive.

Daniel observed the room and the capsules and made a deduction in what could be happening but wasn't sure just yet, there was still the current threat. The terrified Pokémon jumped at Daniel ferociously.

Daniel sidestepped out of the way and reached out with his hand and grabbed ahold of the injured young man using psychic. He was saved from the Pokémon's clutches and was gently moved to the side. The clawed Pokémon leapt at the boy, claws ready to strike.

Daniel's eyes began to glow slightly as he readied himself to strike. When the claw Pokémon was close, the representative unleashed a rapid but powerful strike right into the torso of the enemy. The Pokémon slay out and collapsed to the floor, falling unconscious.

The last remaining Pokémon there ran away in terror as it watched its partner get dismantled like nothing. The teen turned around once he heard footsteps and was ready to chase once more but he heard it screaming after a gunshot sound echoed in the hallway. Daniel's heart sunk, the sound of the gunshot gave him a flashback to the death of his master. His heart dropped and he grew anxious as he heard slow but deliberate footsteps make their way towards the room. Reflexively, the representative assumed a fighting stance and awaited something to appear.

Engano emerged from the hallway, holding a gun in his hand and smoke emitting from the barrel. Daniel raised his voice and questioned, "Engano?! What are you doing here?!"

Engano looked to the boy and smirked, "I'm here for the same reason as you, I'm investigating. It might not look like it, but these guys have been a pain in my ass as well, several of my boys are disappearing because of these bastards and I needed to know what was going on. Luckily for me, you've saved me a lot of trouble."

Engano stepped into the room and shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked around and analyzed his surroundings.

"B-boss!"

Engano turned and it was the injured young man who looked as if he were going to cry for sheer joy. Engano responded, "oh, there you are, Dom." Engano knelt in front of his subordinate and sized him up.

"I'm so glad you're here, boss! They got me pretty good in the leg" Dom winced his eyes in pain as he forced his leg forward to show Engano. Engano took no visible interest in the leg and asked.

"Dom, where's the rest of the boys?"

"I don't know, honestly, I don't even know what's going on in general! Those _things _took several people and stored them in those capsules and said something about 'transformation process' and took the capsules away, I don't know where they took them, boss."

"I see…"

"Regardless! I'm so glad you're here now! I've been waiting for-" before Dom could finish, Engano drew his gun and blasted his subordinates brains out with a shot. Everyone in the room's facial expression grew tenfold as the Don's corpse and blasted brain collapse to the floor, lifeless.

Daniel grit his teeth and yelled, "WHAT THE HELL?! Why'd you shoot him?! He was your subordinate!"

Engano spun his pistol repeatedly as if to taunt and tease Daniel and blow out the smoke, "yes, he was my subordinate so I am to do with him as I please."

"That makes no sense! He was loyal to you and you just killed him!"

"Let me make one thing clear: I despise weaklings, I also despise weaklings who feel entitled to power and royalty. I also despite having my reputation tarnished and that's exactly what this failure was. He was weak, the likes of him managed to get taken by those _things_ and several other of my boys along with him. That gives me and my gang a bad name, y'know? I disposed of him because trash like him doesn't deserve to continue on after such humiliation. And lastly, he failed to provide me information, thus, he was a liability."

Daniel clenched his fists tightly and his anger forced a vein to pop out, Daniel cursed, "You self-centered _bastard_…!"

"Is that so? I'll take that as a compliment, thank you very much." The turn-around pissed Daniel off even more and with a quick movement using psychic, Daniel yanked the pistol from the man's hands and held onto it.

"You piss me off… it makes me sick."

"A gun doesn't exactly fit with a Representative of Creation, wouldn't you agree?"

Daniel's heart skipped a beat and dropped at the same time upon hearing this, causing the pistol in his hand to drop to the floor. "You son of a bitch… how do you-... no, _who_ the HELL are you? WHAT are you?!"

"You can call me an admirer, I have a deep respect for you Daniel Barsony, maybe you could call me a stalker but I like to call it 'close admirer'. I studied a lot about you, I know you're the son of Michael Barsony, the founder of Team TECH, I also know your love interest is Serena Ferris, a childhood friend of yours from back in Kanto."

Daniel was near his breaking point, he was going to explode in fury and planned to mess up Engano if he didn't remain silent. Daniel took a step forward and the aura from the Arceus Stone began to emanate from his body as he approached Engano. The crime boss put his hand out and spoke up, "Speaking of Team TECH, you might want to take a look at those capsules over there." He pointed towards the ones holding the people inside. Daniel slowly turned around and was shocked to the label of Team TECH plastered on the side of the machinery. "Now that's gotta hurt, your father's legacy now in shambles and is your current enemy, kind of ironic, don't you think?"

Daniel backed up, gasping for breath as he began to lose control and he put his hands on his head, nearly losing it. Engano saw this and walked to the teen and placing his hand on the teen's shoulder, "With that in mind, we both share a common enemy. Team TECH goes against your duty as a Representative, right? And these bastards have been tarnishing my reputation. I want some payback, what I am proposing is a partnership, just the two of us. We have more in common than you think and I wouldn't want our relationship to go to waste. I understand I've put you at unease but I want to change that and start anew, what do you think?"

Daniel remained completely silent staring at the floor in shame and partial defeat and allowed the man to continue talking. "I'll take that as a possibly then? Good, I have a place for us to meet up in the near future where we can discuss our potential partnership. I'll be expecting you so see you there." Engano walked away leaving Daniel by himself as he trembled in fear and by the time he looked back, the man had disappeared. Daniel looked to the remaining survivors who were in shock as well, the teen looked to the ground and muttered to himself:

"What the hell…"


	6. Chapter 6, Denial

Several days had passed since the events of the investigation. Things had calmed down and everyone continued on through their daily routines. The police did a further investigation on the case and the victimized homeless people were taken care of. As of yet, no additional leads have been discovered. The representative of creation went about his days trying to get adapted to a normal life, however, he was always on the lookout, considering how much Engano knows about Daniel, he had to keep a close eye and watch his back at all times, even in the comfort of his own home. During these days of peace, he noticed some irregular behavior with Serena.

One time, Daniel was aiding Samuel in fixing up the television and from the reflection of the TV, he would catch Serena staring at him. He glanced over towards her and instantly, the girl would turn away blushing. Daniel raised his eyebrow in confusion but chose not to say anything about it.

However, it didn't stop there, Daniel often found her staring more and more often and though their interactions were as normal, it was slightly awkward for Daniel knowing she was always watching. It didn't bother him in the slightest and if anything, they talked frequently whenever they had the chance. They would have chats catching up and discussing things that had happened over their time apart. Though it was mostly Daniel explaining his tales of how he endured his intense training. One thing the teen always noticed whenever he looked at her as they talked was the slight blush she had whenever she gazed upon him with the slight shine in her eyes. She seemed so happy just being around him, not that the feeling wasn't mutual but it was different for the boy.

Mid-conversation one day, however, Samuel interrupted, "Hey, Daniel, come with me." the representative raised his head and questioned, "Where are we going?".

Samuel responded, "To the hospital, we have a visit to make." Daniel immediately understood what was happening and with no hesitation, got up from his seat and joined his brother, leaving the girl by herself as she was left confused.

They had arrived at the hospital and as expected, they ventured to their mother's room where she was fully conscious and awake. Daniel was overjoyed to see his mother in a better state and holding himself back, gave his mother a strong hug which she returned to the best of her ability. The two brothers had taken a seat to have a chat with their mother.

The mother spoke up, "My, look how you've grown in one year. You look completely different than you did on the television." She complimented her younger son who smiled with embarrassment, hearing a compliment from his mother was heartwarming for him.

Daniel answered, "Yeah… I've.. Definitely changed…"

"You don't know how happy I am that you beat your older brother, Samuel. You spent years trying to achieve your goal so it made me so happy to see you win."

"It was a big moment for me too, it felt like a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders."

"Speaking of which, Happy birthday, dear."

Daniel was surprised by what she said for multiple reasons. First, it was not even his birthday yet and secondly, he had not heard that phrase in quite some time so it threw him off. "I-it's not my birthday, mom." Daniel said, slightly concerned and worrying if she had developed memory loss as well, fortunately, that was not the case.

"I know, but with you being gone for seven years, I never got to say it to you for all this time. My silly 16 year old boy."

"You remembered how old I am?"

"Of Course I did, always, I am your mother after all." Daniel nearly felt himself cry but chose not to, only embracing his mother once more as a sign of appreciation as he had always done. He chose to stay in his position, remaining within his mother's embrace that he hasn't felt in a long time. It gave him memories of his childhood, of his family, back when times were much simpler. The representative was comfortable the way he was, and remained in place for both their sakes. "That reminds me… how are you and Serena doing? Are you getting along well? I remember all the time as a kid, you were infatuated with her and adored her so much."

Daniel let go and sat up straight to look his mother in the eye, "Umm… yeah, we're doing great right now."

"Are you? How'd she respond when you admitted your feelings to her in public?" This caught Daniel off-guard as he just remembered what he did and the fact his mother witnessed it all, giving him mixed feelings at the moment.

"Honestly… I don't know… I mean, we've been talking a lot, I guess she likes me…? I can't say."

Daniel's mother gave a warm smile as she placed her hand on his and stated, "Follow your heart, you will never go wrong if you stay true to your feelings. Mine says you should go for it, ask her out."

"You think she'll say yes?"

"I do, but only if you have faith in yourself."

The Barsony family finished conversing as a nurse walked in stating they had to do a check-up on her, forcing the brothers to leave and find something to do in the meantime. Samuel suggested that Daniel should try asking Serena out like their mother had suggested but Daniel was unsure still. He wasn't sure how to do it and Engano was still on his mind considering the man had significant knowledge of his own life.

The day had passed on accordingly and it reached the time of day where the brothers had to do grocery shopping for their own home, they decided to bring Serena along to aid them in their shopping. Samuel also used this as an opportunity for Daniel, often allowing the boy to have time with Serena by putting plenty of distance between them.

"Is something on your mind, Daniel?" Serena asked, looking towards him as he zoned out. Daniel responded, "Oh, uh, nothing… just zoning out." Serena smiled, tugging at the teen for him to follow.

Daniel was in-fact in deep thought, conflicted feelings about the entire situation flowing into his head endlessly. "_I don't know if I can really ask her out. I'll be putting her in danger and into my life of constant danger if she gets attached to me… and I don't know if I can bare the thought of her getting hurt because of me…"_

They soon left the grocery store and walked around Lumiose City holding onto the bags, it was quiet between the three of them as they simply walked. The only sound coming from traffic, nearby pedestrians, and other city-related sounds.

"_On the other hand, if I keep her away, I won't be able to protect her like I want to. If Engano really does know about her and our relationship, he could try to attack her to get to me. I can't let that happen…"_

Serena stepped in front of the teen with puffy cheeks and slightly irritated with the boy's silence, "Okay, something's bothering you, what is it? You can tell me." Samuel turned around, looking at the boy and figuring he's conflicted about his feelings. One thing he has noticed as of recent from Daniel is his silence, he's become more quiet since the previous investigation. Daniel had made no mention of anything he saw despite admitting he saw and heard things he wished he hadn't and refused to discuss them with Samuel. Being his older brother, he respected his privacy but it left him worried if the events of the investigation took some sort of toll on the teen.

"Oh, uh, guess I'm just bored and zoning out… umm, Samuel, if it's cool with you, could I just walk around for a bit?"

Samuel seemed confused by the request but obliged but Serena butted in, "I'll go with you too."

"Oh, umm… sure."

The two brothers parted ways and walked in two separate directions as they went off. Daniel had his hands shoved in his pocket and he continued to stare at the floor in thought, so ignorant of his surroundings he almost bumped into various people and things. They had made their way to Prism Tower which was still under reconstruction after the Team Flare attack from a year ago right after Daniel left. The entire tower was blocked off and construction workers operated on the building. The tower had blocked out the sun from where they stood and stood within its shadow.

Daniel stopped and turned around to Serena who was behind him with a nervous expression on his face. Serena knew this time he was going to say something. She knew the entire time something had been bothering Daniel and he was brushing it off to avoid concern. If anything, it had made her more curious which is why she patiently waited for him to be ready. "Yes, Daniel?" She asked, looking into his eyes.

Daniel furrowed his brows and exhaled, "...I… don't know how I'm gonna put this… Like… I like… I mean I already said it a year ago while battling Samuel and all. And… well…"

Serena's heart skipped a beat, her thoughts wandered all over the place and questioned to herself, "_Is this really happening?!"_

"Damn it, I'm just going to say it. Serena, I like you, can you go out with me?!"

"_He did it!_" Serena exclaimed to herself, eyes wide and with shock. She blushed intensely and her mouth opened up. Daniel remained steadfast and unwavering, his eyes locked with hers as he blushed just the same. He bit his lip in nervousness and clenched his fists. He was very tense at the moment and was unsure of what to do next.

Serena on the other hand, had developed feelings for Daniel over the course of time, she at first denied it partially but it turned into a full blown crush when she realized how much she had missed him. She's seen how much he's changed and improved since a year ago and that intensified her feelings even more. She began to speak, swallowing and looked up to the teen.

"I'm… happy… no, overjoyed… that you asked me…" Serena stated, Daniel grew a smile and took it as a yes and taking a step forward, "But… I'm sorry… I can't…" The teen stopped in his tracks, and his heart had sunk and his face drained of all excitement. For Serena, it was worse, she felt like she had just stabbed herself in the heart with a knife and her legs began to shake. "I'm really sorry, so sorry…"

Daniel forced a smile and couldn't understand initially why she decline and thought of a rational reason , "... I… understand… I shoulda figured anyways… you probably like Ash or some other guy buy now, maybe have a relationship of your own, right?"

Serena winced and looked away, that wasn't the truth at all, but she couldn't explain to him why and she hated herself for it. She lied, "...Something like that…"

A bead of sweat trailed down Daniel's forehead as he almost laughed, "I shoulda known… haha… sorry for wasting your time like that…" Serena broke out into a mess and tears streamed down from her eyes. She turned around and ran away as fast as she could.

"I'm sorry!" She yelled as she ran off, Daniel almost ran after her, calling her name but stopped himself. He stood there in the open, next to the ruins of Prism Tower and simply watched her as she grew further and further away from him. His heart was now torn and destroyed and somewhat empty as he wasn't sure what to feel at the moment. Then…

"It's time we met up… follow me…" The voice of Engano sounded from nearby, Daniel whipped around and saw the crime lord leaning on a nearby tree, obscured by darkness. At that moment, the boy clenched his fists as tight as he possibly could and grit his teeth, his arm began to shake as he muttered to himself, "Engano…" in a disgusted tone.

Daniel angrily followed the man into an abandoned warehouse, no sign of life in quite some time. Sunlight entered the building revealing sections of it at a time. They made their way towards the center of the room where a circle of light could be seen. "Come, join me in the light." Engano welcomes with open arms and a sinister smile. Daniel stepped into the center and faced the man directly.

Daniel questioned, "what did you want to talk about?

"Our partnership, of course. I wanted to see if we could solidify this silly idea of mine.

"Well make it quick, I'm kind of pissed off right now."

"Oh? Is it because of me? Or… is it because of Serena?" Engano teaser, Daniel's eyebrow twitched and the teen raised his voice defensively.

"Leave her out of this, she has nothing to do with us."

"I wish that were the case but with you, wherever you go, whatever you do: Serena will be the heart of it all, won't she?"

"That's not the point."

"Then what is? Are you to tell me she's just some girl you keep bringing into your life because it's convenient for you? To have some sort of love?"

"Enough, if your only point is to bring me here to try and attack me, it's not working." Engano chuckled as a response to this, stepping out of the circle and into the shadows.

"Fair enough, then let's get down to business. As I explained already, we now have a common enemy: Team TECH, and-"

"We don't even know for sure that Team TECH is responsible, for all we know, those creatures could've bought it or stole it."

"Now you're just in denial, silly boy. Look at the facts, Team TECH is not the company it once was under your father's supervision and you know it. Does this seem out of character to you?" Daniel had no response to the remark, remaining silent which Engano took as a no. "So, what I want to present is a partnership that benefits us both, I don't want it to be exclusive to just this situation, I want to have a beneficial one where we continue to help each other."

"In what way?"

"I've stated it previously, but we have a lot in common. We're both powerful in different ways, if we wanted to, we could do whatever we want! Nobody could stop us besides our will. And mine wants to conquer! Conquer those that look down upon us!"

"What do you mean?"

"My organization's goal is to change the society and flip the world on its head, I want the world to see how corrupt and vile it is! We live in a society where everyone is always trying to one-up each other and the ones who fail get looked down upon."

Daniel grit his teeth and pointed out, "You hypocrite! You killed Dom for that exact reason!"

"You don't understand, he felt entitled to power, I am a firm and strong believer in the fact that people have to earn and work hard towards their goals. Trust me, if you knew him, you would see the type of vile person he was and he was undeserving to continue in my organization. Which is why I have a deep respect for you, look what you accomplished! Look what you've done and all because you put work into it. You would be a key role model for my group."

"How exactly do you plan on 'changing society'?"

"I have a long and calculated plan that could potentially take years, a plan I wish to share with you. And with your help, I can accomplish this plan even faster! That is how important you are, think about it!"

"Does it involve killing? Just like you disposed of Dom?"

"Ofcourse, we will root out the pigs who look down upon us, we will change the very definition of power! I will change this world into a more just one with me as its overseer!"

Daniel clenched his fists, he didn't feel in control. Though Engano was powerless and only talking, it felt like Engano had all the control in the situation. Now that it was just the two of them, Engano gave off an unfamiliar but at the same time, familiar vibe to Daniel. It was a peculiar phenomena, but whatever it was, it made the teen uncomfortable. What also threw the representative in for a loop was his conflicted feelings if Engano's plans aligned with being a representative and he knew deep down it was wrong but the man made sense to a degree. All he knew was that he was dealing with a psychopath. Daniel answered, "Overseer huh? So just like the people you despise, you want to be an almighty force to control everyone else? Almost like a god, huh? If that's the case, I will happily decline your offer."

Daniel could hear Engano stop and his breath hitched in surprised. Strangely enough, the man simply smiled and maneuvered around the circle, maintaining eye-contact with Daniel even in the shadow. "No, huh? Is it something I said?"

"Yeah, everything you said. I'm not gonna join the likes of you, someone who's so sick in the head."

"Is that how it is? Then what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to knock your crazy ass out and finish this."

"Okay… so let me get this straight… you're just going to defeat a defenseless person and turn them in to the authorities? What're you going to say, 'oh this man's Engano, I knocked him out'. Where's your evidence? No one's seen me, and they would be hard-pressed to believe you. If anything, it's suspicious that you found me out, would it not?"

Engano was right but Daniel had to do this no matter what, he can't let Engano haunt him like this and he resorted to bluffs to make his point, "I got plenty of evidence that you don't know about, just watch."

"Oh I'll watch all right. However, let me tell you what'll ACTUALLY happen. If you initiate any form of conflict against me right now… I'll kill you." Daniel was caught off guard by the threat but the man didn't stop there, "And who knows, I could be in the mood to chase after your family. Maybe I could kill Samuel next, he's been a thorn in my side since the beginning." Daniel's heart skipped a beat and a vein popped out.

Daniel thought to himself, "_He's got to be joking! I'll knock him out before he even pulls his gun!" _

"And maybe when I'm done with Samuel… I can have some fun with Serena."

The remark made the teen clench both fists and his arms rumbled from sheer anger. Engano smiled, knowing he was getting to the boy.

"Oh, the type of fun I can have with Serena, have you seen her performances? Of Course you have, from that adorable little outfit she wears, to her beautiful blonde hair. Mmm, don't even get me started on her physique, the places I would touch…"

Daniel was fuming at that point, it became a separate struggle to maintain control and not go berserk on the man in front of him, he began to strain from holding himself back and he let out a hot breath. "_Stay calm! He's only bluffing, he won't be able to do any of that!"_

"And maybe… maybe when I'm done with Serena… I can go after your mother next."

Daniel exploded, without a second moments thought, he lunged towards Engano with a burning rage nearly as hot as hell itself. The boy activated the Arceus Stone and approached with full intent to knock this man out with constraint. Instantly, the boy let out a powerful punch towards the man he hated, however, Engano crossed his arms in front of his and blocked the punch. Daniel pushed Engano back but the man only smirked, proceeding to break his guard and knock away Daniel's fist.

The representative threw several consecutive punches, each heavy and powerful but the man in front of him continued to dodge and block every attack made his away until they entered a lock they couldn't get out of. The crime lord reacted quickly, bringing his leg up and shove kicking the teen several feet away. Engano stated, "Well, I guess I won't be needing this anymore." The man ripped off his sunglasses and mask to reveal his black eyes with white pupils.

The sight shocked the teen and he had no idea what to think of what he had just witnessed. Daniel quired, "How did you do that?!"

"Oh… you know, i've been working out… I am not remotely close to the average human, i've ascended that feeble state a long time ago. I am Engano!" Engano charged at the representative with equal speed and went in for an uppercut and narrowly missed as the boy moved away. Daniel immediately took this opportunity to come and gain a free hit on the man who ate the punch with little reaction. Engano grabbed the back of Daniel's head and pulled the boy as he brought his knee up to meet the teen's stomach. Daniel spat out as a result, jabbing at the man's side with his elbow and setting himself free.

Daniel, despite being in an uncomfortable position, placed his hand on the floor and spinning around to strike the crime lord on the side with a powerful spin-kick. The man fell one step back but it just felt like Daniel had kicked into a burning rod. The representative pushed himself back onto his feet to maintain distance from his enemy. The teen felt somewhat exposed and looked at his body and noticed holes in sections of his clothing that made contact with Engano. "What the hell?!"

Engano smiled as if he planned all this, "Next, you're going to notice your fists are hurting a lot more than they should, right?"

"What the hell! Why do my fists hurt so much?!" Daniel looked at them and was surprised to see his hands looked like something had burnt off most of his skin. Revealings his tendons inside. The sight made him look away and shake his hands repeatedly as if to cool them off. It wasn't that, other areas in Daniel's body he was hit also lost bits of skin and he slowly became a bloody mess. "What the hell is this?! What are you?!"

"It's like I said, I'm not a human anymore."

Daniel stepped back, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead as he thought to himself, "_I need time to think about this! I need time to figure out how to beat this guy!"_ Daniel began to float off the ground and zoom off but Engano wasn't going to let him get away. The man placed his hand out in front of him and pointed it towards Daniel as he smirked confidently.

Daniel wasn't paying attention to the building they were in and didn't realize how expensive it was, it was held up by dozens upon dozens of small pillar providing plenty of cover. Out of nowhere, a ball of neon magenta light shot past him and incinerated the pillar it struck, melting the foundation. Daniel was surprised, looking behind him to see a volley of projectiles coming to him. They approached quickly, only giving Daniel enough time for split second reactions to not get hit. Teen bobbed and weaved around each blast, the intense heat radiating off of each one as he swirled around each pillar in a desperate attempt to not get hit.

The representative turned a corner and was struck as a blast caught him by surprise and raced up his chest, melting his shirt and damaging his skin as he backflipped away. The room was in complete darkness at this point and the only sources of light were from the blasts and Daniel's blue aura. He stopped moving away and instead moved towards the blasts and zoomed past them as he made his way to Engano. Unfortunately, the projectiles turned around immediately and followed the teen past the crime lord. Daniel wasn't about to be confined to the building and readied himself as he rammed through the ceiling of the building and into the outside. Daniel calmed down and allowed the green electricity to pulsate through his body and envelope him as the attacks came close. Daniel opened his eyes and shouted as his aura and electricity deflected the blasts and knocked them back towards the building.

Daniel made eye contact with Engano who was still smiling just the same. The teen entered a fighting stance and zoomed down to the ground towards Engano. For a moment, it appeared to Daniel the man was enveloped in his own aura and he jumped into the air to meet Daniel. They both yelled at each other's names as loud as they can as they brought their punches back. Engano's expression detailed he was enjoying this while Daniel's was the complete opposite. Their fists collided and in that moment, an image flashed in the teen's eyes of a large white and golden creature with red eyes lying within darkness. And soon, everything faded in a bright light.

Daniel got up quickly from the ground and looked around, he was in the last place he was, he was behind Prism Tower and still within its shadow. He couldn't process what was happening, where'd Engano go? How'd he get here? Did he lose? He had so many questions left answered, but one thing was for sure. Daniel fell forward just slightly, catching himself with his hands and curled up his hand into a ball. "What's going on… he was stronger than me… he completely overpowered me in that situation… I don't know why…"

Daniel's arm began to shake in fear, anger, shame, and embarrassment as he brought it back. "It doesn't even matter if she said yes or no, the fact remains that I'm not strong enough to protect her from him! He's too strong! WHAT IS THIS SHIT?!" He screamed, punching the floor as hard as he can and creating a dent in it with each punch. The man couldn't hold it back anymore, after all the recent stress, he let it go and simply cried, remaining in his feeble and weakened state.

"So… the boy needs more power… eh? Heh heh, I can give him that once he fully succumbs to me…"


	7. Chapter 7, The Truth

"Hey! Daniel, could you grab the towels from upstairs?! I kinda need them!", Samuel called his brother who stared out the window. Daniel just looked outside, not doing anything else. It took him a couple seconds to register what Samuel had requested and fulfilled it. The teen managed to recover just fine after his scuffle because of the Arceus Stone but there was a deeper wound the stone couldn't reach, his heart and his mind. Once he handed his brother the towels, he looked out the window and saw the Ferris household. He saw walking around and soon, Serena came into view. He raises his eyes but couldn't bring himself to look at her and immediately turned away, attempting to focus his attention elsewhere. Liz and Anna had noticed but made no remark.

Daniel had been avoiding Serena for the last couple days and he didn't know why she did nothing wrong but he felt as he was at fault and kept his distance. The teen mostly had small talk with his cousins and didn't say much to Samuel about any of the recent happenings. But one day, something peculiar arose.

was at the door when Samuel opened it and she seemed very concerned, almost with a hint of anger. Samuel asked, "oh, hey , is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah, it's something to do with Serena, well… not her exactly but it's with one of her friends. It's difficult to explain, could you and Daniel come with me?" Samuel turned around to Daniel who simply shrugged his shoulders in confusion, having no knowledge of what was referring to.

The mother had taken the Barsony Brothers to a house several minutes away (via walking) and once they arrived, knocked on the door to the house. It opened to reveal an older woman who appeared in her late 40's. Defined by the wrinkles on her forehead and the distraught expression on her face. "Oh, Grace! I'm so happy you came!" The woman got out and embraced her friend, returned the embrace and tried her best to soothe her. Once they were done, the older woman backed off and looked to the Barsony brothers. "Ah! You even brought the Barsony brothers with you! Did you bring them to help?"

confirmed, "Yes, they'd be greater help than I can, if anyone's going to help solve this: they can."

"Splendid! Please come on in, make yourself at home, I have a lot to discuss." The family was taken into the household, there was minimal lighting inside the household besides a few lamps and candles strewn about. Daniel followed the lady but his instincts told him to investigate the surroundings and so he did. As he looked, he saw several family photos with a black haired boy who was very small in the photo. The more he looked, the time passed by with each photo and the boy in the photo got taller and older and started to look… familiar… too familiar…

Daniel had taken a seat on the couch at that point, sitting across from the presumed mother on the other side.

"I noticed you were looking at the family photos, Daniel Barsony. The little boy in the photo is my sweet baby boy, oh I miss him so much!"

Daniel felt somewhat embarrassed that he was caught but the statement made him raise his eyebrows and asked, "D-did something happen to your son?"

"That's what I need your help with, my baby boy has been missing for a long time now and he hasn't shown up since! Just thinking about my baby boy all alone makes me want to cry!" The mother began to let her tears fall down as she stated and blew her nose with a tissue. Daniel gulped and looked around a bit more.

Samuel asked, "What exactly happened? Can you be more specific?"

"Yes… I'll tell you, it happened a year ago when we had just finished celebrating his 18th birthday. One day, he left to go visit Serena and after being gone for a week, he came back. But only briefly before leaving again without saying anything! He's such a sweet little boy and I want him home so bad!" The woman cried even more remembering the tragic event.

Daniel looked towards Samuel who appeared clueless, this story, the situation seemed very familiar. All too familiar, from the looks of the boy in the photo to the story, but perhaps it was a coincidence but he couldn't be sure. "M'am… what… was your son's name?"

"His name's Calem, he should be 19 now."

And like that, Daniel's entire body tensed up, every possible muscle and fiber in his body was wound tightly upon hearing the man's name. The traumatizing memory of what happened flashed again before his eyes, Serena in the fetal position with her clothing starting to be removed and that sick abomination of a human being standing over her proudly staring at his work. It made him sick, every fiber in his body despised Calem for what he did and how he's being asked to help the man?!

"Please! I'm begging you! Find my baby boy and bring him home! My heart aches every day I am without him, please!"

Daniel clenched his fists and grit his teeth, The teen didn't know what to say or even do in that situation. Samuel answered, "Of course we're going to help find your son, ma'am! Right, Daniel?"

The representative zoned out, he refused to help that son of a bitch. No way he would ever. But… he responded, "Yeah…" The words he uttered infuriated him, no way he wanted to but ONLY because of the mother, she reminded him of his own. And their situation are similar, he caused his mother a significant amount of pain with his disappearance and he can't let that same pain fall upon another one. Only because of that, he willed himself to find Calem but it doesn't change his feelings towards him in the slightest.

"Thank you so much! I can't imagine the pain he's going through right now, I can only imagine what he's enduring out there by himself!"

Elsewhere, there were hundreds of gang members gathered in one building, every single one of them chanting and cheering. They were inside a large building with plenty of open area and a platform outlining the perimeter of the building for spectators to get a better view from above. In the center and blocked out from everyone else, was Engano. The man was playfully hopping around in a boxing stance with his arms up close to his head for protection. In front of him was one of the humanoid Pokemon creatures, It was a Machoke but the human traits were still there. The Pokemon was afraid and fearful of the man in front, the crowd cheering for Engano and cursing towards the creature.

The Machoke jumped at Engano, ready to pummel the man into smithereens. However, Engano was much quicker and faster, landing a well placed punch in the creature's head and sending it back a few feet onto its back. The forehead skin tore and bled and the creature groaned in pain. The crime lords stepped forward in front of the creature, smirking confidently, and kneeling down in front of it. The humanoid Pokemon was in a daze and was attempting to gather its senses and Engano had full intentions of utilizing that time he had.

The man pressed his knee onto the left leg of the creature, pinning the top of the leg down. He placed his left hand on the knee and pushed down on it as well, he scooped his right hand under its foot and began to lift upwards. There was a lot of resistance, but it didn't bother Engano, it just made it more fun. As the psychopath pushed down on the knee and lifted the lower leg up, it started to force the leg to contort in an unnatural way, tearing the skin and ripping apart the muscles. The bones grinded against each other, as Engano tortured the creature, it began to spazz repeatedly in pain, shaking uncontrollably and screaming. The crowd knew what was going to happen and cheered, urging their boss to follow through. Engano muttered to himself.

"3…" the bones cracked and jutted out as the leg began to bend upwards and forming an unnatural angle

"2…" the muscles and skin tore as a result of this as the leg bent even more

"1…" his leg began to gush out blood.

With one swift movement, the crime lord twisted off the man's leg, completely tearing it off as blood shot out and sprayed the crime lord. The poor creature cried and freaked out uncontrollably as the pain was simply unbearable, he tried crawling away from Engano, managing to only pace himself back a few inches at a time. The crowd roared with excitement and their voices echoed in the building, intensifying the rumbling in their ears. Engano opened his arms out and took in the cheers, absorbing it all and basking in its glory. Engano noticed his prey fleeing and smiled. He turned around and walked towards the pathetic life form in front of him.

In an instant, Engano was on top of the creature and had pinned it down, covering its mouth with his hand. The crime lord got close, their eyes only a few centimeters apart and Engano threatened, "I might let you live if you tell me where you're keeping all my boys and where your come from." The machoke tried to talk and attempted to scream at Engano but its mouth was closed so it was muffled. "How about this, I WILL let you live if you tell me, how does that sound?" The Machoke protested, attempting to lash out and get a chop at Engano from the side. The man reacted quickly and covering his hand in a strange aura, sliced off the creature's hand, making the pokemon twitch even more and try to scream. "You're only making it hard on yourself... " The crime lord look to the crowd and announced, "Someone throw me a Handsaw!"

The crowd erupted and people struggled to pass the equipment through, and all at once, several hand saws were thrown out of the crowd towards Engano. The man grabbed ahold of one that came close to him. The crime lord positioned himself and placed the saw by the creature's left shoulder and pressed the blade onto it. The humanoid machoke cried out, "Please… I beg you…" It whimpered, fearful about the upcoming torture.

"Too late." Engano immediately began to dig into the shoulder, bringing the saw back and forth, back and forth. The crowd cheered and various people cursed out, "Fuck you! Burn in hell you bastard of a creature! You guys killed Dom and took my friends!"

The pain was too much for it to handle, and he began to lose consciousness and the transformation began to wear off as his body morphed and changed very slowly.

"Oh come on, now you're making this too easy for me, stay transformed! It makes it more fun for me." Engano continued nonetheless, and in a minute, he had successfully severed the arm and sawed it off, leaving blood gushing out and spilling all over the floor. The Pokemon was slowly dying and couldn't even scream anymore and just cried in pain and accepted its fate. Engano looked to the Pokemon and tapped its cheeks a couple times to wake it back up, "You're gonna bleed out at this rate, it's best to tell me now. If you do, I can heal you, I have the power. TELL ME NOW AND I WILL SAVE YOU!"

The creature barely muttered out, "I… I will tell you… I beg you… save me, please…" Engano grew a big smile in that moment and grinned.

"Goooood… tell me what you know…"

"We're from the reflection caves! We come from an alternate reality from yours. Your people were most likely taken to the main headquarters to be mutated into Pokemon like I have!"

"Who do you work for?"

"I-it's Team TECH! Team TECH assigned us this mission!"

"Oh? And tell me… who is your leader in this alternate reality?"

"D-D-Daniel… Daniel Barsony…!"

Engano's eyes widened and he chuckled first before bursting into laughter. He couldn't stop, the irony behind the statement was so immense he couldn't stop laughing. Goody two-shoes Daniel Barsony is the leader of his father's company in an alternate reality and kidnapping people to mutate them into hideous creatures? What a joke! But it did make sense, the irony was there. And with all of the information he needs now, he patted the creature lightly and charmed, "See? That's all I needed you to say, you could've saved us so much trouble if you only had talked in the beginning."

"A-a-a-are you going to save me, now?"

"FUCK NO, WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM, ARCEUS?!" Engano decapitated the man and earned one last roar from the audience. Engano stood up and raised both his fists into the air and raised the volume with the movement just the same. "_Reflection Caves, huh? I suppose I know my next destination._"

A day had passed since the Barsony family heard the news about Calem. They went to the police and they had already done a thorough investigation and found no body or lead involving his disappearance. This left the brothers confused and with no idea where to begin with the investigation if the police had nothing. They were even told to leave it to the police nonetheless as they're still on the case and desperately trying to find him. Whether the teen wanted to admit it or not, Daniel felt at ease knowing he didn't have to look for and put up with that man.

Samuel received a call from the Make a Wish Foundation, requesting for Daniel to make an appearance as a request of one of the children there. The teen happily obliged, joining his brother and the two of them made their way to the hospital. They entered the hospital and were greeted to a surprise, Professor Roloane was there to greet them. His face lit up with joy as he made his way to the two boys and shook their hands with enthusiasm. "Samuel! Daniel! It's so good to see you boys after so long! How have you been?" Roloane greeted, urging the boys to following along. They explained how they were doing but the current situation made them confused.

Samuel asked, "Roloane, why did you want us here? Did you make the request for Daniel to come in?"

"No, I just helped out with it. The request was actually made by my daughter." Both Daniel and Samuel whipped around towards each other, a daughter? Roloane had a daughter? That's something they didn't know, everyone has their own secrets. Roloane took them into a room and inside was Roloane's daughter.

She was a teenager younger than Daniel but the poor girl was hooked up to several machines, reminiscent of their mother. She physically looked sick but kept a cheerful face. What caught the teen off-guard the most was the girl's lack of hair, she was essentially bald.

The young teen turned her head and a bright smile spread across her face. "Papa! You're back!" She called out. Daniel and Samuel entered her view as well and she grew even more excited. "Oh my gosh! Daniel Barsony, you came! It's so nice to meet you-" She attempted to get up from the bed but winced in pain.

Daniel didn't know what but his instincts kicked in and he rushed towards her, motioning for her to just lay down in bed, "whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, easy there, you don't need to get up and hurt yourself." Daniel put his hand out towards her motioning for a handshake. She smiled and chuckled nervously as she reached for his hand and shook it.

"I'm sorry… I just get so excited when I see someone I'm a fan of."

"You're a fan?"

"Ofcourse, since I saw your debut in the Pokemon League, I took an interest in you. I really became a fan once you started battling your friend, Andres. I saw how you really were and I became an instant fan! Just thinking about that battle gets me all giddy again!" She said, blushing and moving around as best she can in excitement.

"Umm… glad you were entertained by the battle then… I don't want to sound rude by asking this… but how come you're here…?"

Roloane stepped in and his expression changed to a more mellow one, "Melissa has terminal cancer." Both Barsony brothers spun towards Roloane in shock. They couldn't believe what they just heard, a girl having terminal cancer at her age? That's terrible! "And because of her cancer, she was moved her to the children's hospital where she really wanted to make a request for you to show up.

"T-that's horrible…"

"Which is why she wants to ask you a very important question." Daniel turned to her and bent over a little bit to meet her level instead of towering above.

"What did you want to ask?"

The girl coughed but still remained smiling when she looked at him and asked, "So, my school's having it's homecoming event soon and I was hoping you could go with me as my date or partner…" Daniel was taken aback by the statement, Homecoming? He hasn't heard anything about that in a long time. Much less, he was surprised she asked in the first place. However, without hesitation, he answered.

"Ofcourse, I'll go with you, I promise you."

"Thank you… it means so much to me… and one more thing, could I hold your hand real quick?" Daniel was perplexed by the question but put his hand out real quick to meet hers. She reached for his hand and held onto it, she reached with her other hand as well. "Your hand is so warm… it's soothing…" She closed her eyes, content with how relaxed she was at the moment. Daniel couldn't help but pity for the poor girl, he wished he could help so bad but his powers couldn't cure anything of this magnitude. All he could do is grant the poor girl's request. She let go and thanked the teen for the simple gesture. He brushed it off claiming it was nothing.

A week had passed and Daniel had prepared himself for the event, fitting himself with a simple collared shirt and sleek pants to pair with it. Ofcourse, a tie was wrapped around the collar as well. He had been picked up by the Professor in his car with Melissa waiting inside, very excited to see the representative. He sat right next to the girl and patiently sat in the car waiting to arrive at their destination. He turned to Melissa and asked, "So… what grade are you in?"

"I'm a Sophomore!"

"_A sophomore?! She's so young! why did she have to end up having terminal cancer?!"_ Daniel gulped and rested his head against the seat and questioned, "Well… umm… how's school been for you?"

"School? It was going alright I guess… but I haven't been able to go since I got terminal cancer… but it's okay, I'm happy I can at least go to homecoming with you!"

"_This girl… how can she be so optimistic despite her predicament? She's something alright._"

It took only a few minutes for them to arrive at Melissa's school, the professor and Daniel exited the car and helped the girl get out of her seat and into a wheelchair. The girl started to wheel off but noticed Daniel wasn't following, she turned around to see Roloane had stopped the boy and was talking to him. "Daniel, before you go, there's something important I have to say to you." Melissa noticed her dad was holding the boy back and got annoyed.

"Daaaad! Come on, Daniel's supposed to come with me!"

"It'll only take me a minute or two, dear, I just need to tell him something. You can go on ahead and meet up with one of your friends. Daniel will be with you shortly."

"Okay!"

Melissa rolled off to join her friends, in the meantime, Daniel looked towards Roloane with a serious expression and furrowed his brows, "What did you want to talk about?"

Roloane explained, "I need to talk about it in private… can we go back in the car real quick?" Daniel agreed and they both entered the car once more. The professor held onto the steering wheel and took a deep breath. He appeared very tense to Daniel and he rested his head against the steering wheel. "What I'm about to say… is going to hurt us both… I've accepted you're going to be angry with me once you hear it but I need to tell you the truth…"

"The truth about what?"

"Your father… and why tragedy struck all those years ago…"

"W-what are you talking about? You figured something out about it?"

"No, Iknow the full complete truth… because the man responsible for your life to go downhill… was me… I'm the reason your father is dead..."

Daniel's expression slowly changed as he tried to process it, and his adrenaline flowed through his body as his anger rose exponentially. "You bastard… you're saying you killed my father? You burnt down my home all those years ago?!"

"No! No… that's not it… look… let me explain… That's all I ask of you…"

"You better give me a good reason not to explode right now."

"I'll make it quick… It happened all those years ago, I worked for your father when he was the leader of Team TECH. And it was at that time that Melissa had just contracted Cancer. I had grown desperate and tried to save up enough money to buy a cure of any sort but I couldn't… I just didn't have enough, I looked to your father for aid and was initially declined saying he couldn't provide the money at the moment. I thought it was ridiculous at the time and out of desperation, I did the one thing I regret the most in my entire life. I hired a thug, I hired a thug to break into your household and get me the money I needed to pay for Melissa's cure… but I couldn't anticipate the thug would act on his own… the bastard had taken everything from you, he took your father's life during his robbery and set the house on fire after he grabbed the money. It was only after that I learned he was spreading his money and saving his money for his family and for me… he couldn't give me the money at the moment because that good man which was your father was saving up for my daughter after all… It's all my fault… I'm sorry!" Roloane began to cry retelling the story and hid his face as he cried into the steering wheel. The man was consumed by constant regret and guilt for what he had done and it resurfaced.

Daniel's heart had sunk to his feet and his breathing sped up as he took repeated deep breaths to calm down. His eyes dilated and he tried so hard to maintain his composure, he began to shake out of sheer emotion and he barely muttered. "So the reason my life is in the shit it's in now… is because you couldn't stay patient… I LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T WAIT?!" He sprang forward but stopped himself and was right behind the front seat. He stopped when he saw the man in front of him shaking even worse than Daniel and sobbing, the man was more of a mess than he is. Daniel repeatedly told himself to calm down and he fell back into his sight, staring into the roof of the car, processing all the new information.

"You don't know how much it hurts me… to know the damage I've done… it sounds ridiculous but it's because of how ridiculous it was that I will forever hate myself for what I've done… I won't ask for forgiveness… All I ask is that you make my daughter happy… she means everything to me and I did it all for her… She means the world to me and I suffered on her behalf… so I beg to Arceus, please, Daniel… just make my daughter happy… I don't know how long she has left but I want her last moments to be happy ones… do you understand? I beg you, I want nothing else." Roloane had sat up in his seat and his eyes and cheeks were red, Daniel looked at the man and clenched his fist. Fortunately, Daniel let out a sigh and closed his eyes and responded.

"Fine… but ONLY for Melissa, I'll go with her on her behalf… not yours."

"Thank you… I mean it!"

"Don't thank me." Daniel got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind him. He turned around and gave Roloane a stare unlike anything he's managed before, but he put it aside for now and made his way towards the building. He released himself of all his current stress to focus on giving a girl a good time.

Several hours had passed and the dance was over, the teen pushed the girl out on her wheelchair and stepped outside. Roloane wasn't there yet, so they decided to wait outside in the cold. Daniel spoke up, "So, did you have fun, Melissa?"

Melissa turned to him and gave him a cheerful expression, "Of Course! I had so much fun with you, thank you so much!"

Daniel returned the smile and he begged, "Melissa, quick question… despite your current condition… how can you remain so optimistic and cheerful about everything?"

"How? It's you, you kept me motivated."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. Your battle against your brother really showed me something no one else has. Your determination and passion was so deep, I've never seen anything like it until I saw you on TV last year. The words you say and the pain you endured… it really showed me I can change. And after I saw you battle, I decided not to let my cancer bother me anymore and I didn't want to live my life with regrets. That's why I wanted to do this, it means the world to me that you, specifically, went to my homecoming dance with me… especially when everyone else had little faith in me in the first place, so thank you."

Daniel felt so happy that he had such an impact on her life and smiled, "Anytime…" Roloane soon rolled up in his car and waved to the the two teens. Melissa smiled and turned to Daniel.

"Well, I guess I have to go now." She tried her best to turn around and give the teen a hug which he gladly returned. She motioned for him to come close real quick indicating she had something to say. He leaned over and when she did, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek and giggled as a result. Daniel blushed slightly, he never received something like that before so it was the first time for him. "Thank you again, Daniel, I'll see you next time!" She started to make her way to the car but Daniel called out to her.

"Hey! Uh, Melissa… if you happen to make it to your Senior year, I'll be sure to make it to your graduation… sound good?"

"Sounds great! Thank you very much, I'll see you next time! Bye!"

"Bye!..." Daniel stood there and watched the girl get into the car with her father's help. He remained in place as the car drove off and he awaited Samuel to pick him up. He looked forward to seeing Melissa again, he enjoyed conversing with her…

Unfortunately, that would end up being the last time Daniel ever sees her. The next day had come to pass and Samuel revealed to Daniel that Melissa had succumbed to her Cancer and passed away. The teen was overwhelmed with emotion but barely held onto composure, the brothers knew they had to check up on Roloane and in a hurry, they raced over to his household to check on him. The man's car was in place so that meant he was home. Daniel bolted towards the door and knocked on it repeatedly, no answer. He pressed on the doorbell numerous times, no answer. The teen calmed down, trying to look through the window but saw nothing or no one. He raised his voice and called out to the professor but there was no answer. No noise was even made besides the wind that blew.

Daniel let out a deep breath, yes: he was angry at Roloane for what he did but he sympathized for the man and understood what he did. He had accepted what happened and why fate chose things to be that way, so he didn't allow it to bother him at the moment. Daniel activated the Arceus Stone to enhance his senses and he pressed his ear against the door in an attempt to hear anything on the other end. He heard nothing at first until he concentrated and finally picked up on a noise.

The ceiling creaked repeatedly, as if it was being messed with or some pressure was being applied in the area. He listened closely and once he heard something else, he understood it all and his heart was left in shambles. The boy dropped to his knees as he listened to the sound of stretching from an object.

He heard a rope sway back and forth, the ceiling creaked, back and forth, it creaked once more.

Back and forth...

Back and forth...

Back and forth...


	8. Chapter 8, Discovery

The forest was peaceful, everything within it having reached an equilibrium, a balance. The pokemon that ventured around were happy and traveled in packs. The flying Pokemon took to the skies chirping their usual notes, and the bug Pokemon continued to feast. Emerging from the forest's cover and into the open was none other than the Representative of Creation, Bisharp. The pokemon felt fantastic, taking in the unique peace of the forest and relishing in it. A flying Pokemon swooped down and perched itself on the representatives shoulder and stared out into the distance where Bisharp looked. The dark steel Pokemon's thoughts were clear and nothing bothered him at all besides the lingering thought of his mission to find Giratina. He looked around and allowed his instincts to choose his direction.

Straight ahead, that is the path he chose and followed along the open plains of the region he was in. He had no sense of where he was and had been travelling aimlessly in pursuit of his goal but it didn't bother him. Finding his inner balance during his training was something but being in the wild like he was instilled a sense of euphoria in the pokemon. He felt confident and on top of the world, and nothing was going to stop him from getting to his goal. The flying Pokemon perched on his shoulder remained, journeying with him as he explored for hours on end, time seemed to be passing by like a flow of water, very quickly but steadily.

He noticed something peculiar, however, the friend he had with him simply vanished, not even taking off, he would've felt it. The representative also felt like he had travelled much further than he actually had, as if he were in a different place altogether. He turned around and discovered the entrance to a gargantuan temple standing before him. He looked behind to the plains he had travelled and noticed they had disappeared as well, only the ground seemed rotten and decayed, the pillars leading towards the temple were rusted and crumbled up. Everything was consisting of dark colors but the entrance appeared as a black hole, a seemingly endless void inviting him in to be consumed. Bisharp turned towards the entrance and clenched his fist, and smirking confidently.

He marched proudly towards the entrance with no hesitation or thoughts of turning back, nothing but his desire to complete his mission.

Liz was worried for her dear cousin, she sat at the kitchen table enjoying her lunch but her eyes were on Daniel. The teen had recently acquired a stress ball and repetitively squeezed it as he stared at the ceiling. The teen had essentially become a drone, simply squeezing the ball and being in a constant daze with a lack of attention. She attempted to converse with him and pry out why he's been so stressed if he had to get a ball for it but no response arose. She was getting infuriated with him at the same time, look at him, devoting every ounce of his brain power into squeezing a ball over and over again as if his life depended on it. She admitted she wanted attention and wanted to converse with her favorite cousin but she found this completely asinine.

She had enough, with little disregard of anyone's opinion or say, she stormed towards the door and announcing to everyone, "I'm gonna go out! Don't wait on me." She closed the door behind her and waltzed off. This caught Daniel's attention for a little bit as he directed his eyes toward the door and then back to the ceiling as usual.

The girl began to walk down the street until she heard something along the lines of a Pokemon battle happening nearby. She stopped herself to investigate and it led her to look into the Ferris household's backyard. There, she discovered Serena performing with her pokemon. Liz decided to stop and observe as she watched the pokemon performer work her profession. She watched as Serena danced along with her Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon in a circle. Each of her Pokemon performing a different attack in conjunction with the other. Their movements were so coordinated it was mesmerizing. Their attacks combined on a smaller scale to create fireworks unlike any other, spiral of flames that appeared like a blanket of comforting warm flames.

It was about a minute after where the blonde had finished performing and bowed as if performing in front of an audience. She let out a sigh and brushed her hand across her forehead as she visibly sweat. She was caught off-guard upon hearing clapping coming from nearby. Liz clapped enthusiastically as she came close to the girl's fence with a smile on her face. She praised, "That was amazing! You're so talented at performing, girl!"

Serena partially blushed, embarrassed by the compliment and scratched the back of her head, "T-thank you, though I'd say it was an alright performance." The statement struck a nerve with Liz and caused her to get irritated but not towards the blonde.

"What do you mean 'mediocre'?! That was the best thing I've seen in a long time! You need to have some more confidence in yourself!"

"I know… umm, Liz, was it? What brings you here?"

"Well, I was going to go out for a walk by myself considering Daniel's being a bum right now but I got an idea. Let's go together!"

Serena was taken aback by the statement, she contemplated it briefly before returning a warm smile to the cousin and accepting. Liz blew up with excitement, becoming a living bouncy ball as she hopped up and down excitedly. They agreed to wait a little bit so Serena can change out and get herself ready to go out. The blonde teen decided to revel in a bit of nostalgia and wore her old clothes she used when she first journeyed with Ash. With her pink hat to her black shirt to her red skirt. She was ready. The two girls walked out towards the city to have some fun.

Bisharp was cautiously making his way through the temple. It was so incredibly dark, and the Pokemon had a difficult time traversing the darkness and having to feel his way through it all. He had no vision whatsoever. He travelled for several minutes before finally, a light shone down from the ceiling. Revealing a large statue of the God of Destruction, Giratina. It was an immaculate statue of the god, Bisharp immediately made his way towards it with little hesitation. He entered the the light and stood in front of the gargantuan statue before him. He sized it up and down, it was humongous, standing several meters taller than the pokemon. He looked at the base of the structure and noticed indiscernible writing marked on it.

He reached out towards it and once he placed his hand on it, the foundation he stood on collapsed as a loud crashing sound sounded behind him. Before Bisharp could make sense of it all, he was grabbed by a large hand and flung away like a toy. Launching through the building and landing outside with the pillars and sliding across the floor. The sudden action woke Bisharp up fully and his back hurt. Shortly after, two large creatures arose from the roof of the temple and the debris fell down their bodies as they arose into the air. The two creatures turned out to be Gods of Time and Space, Dialga and Palkia.

Bisharp was surprised to see the two gods having revealed themselves to him. They descended slowly towards the area in front of the temple but remained aloft towering above the Dark Steel Pokemon. "Leave this place, representative, or we will destroy you." They threatened, both with glowing red eyes and a menacing aura to them. Bisharp's arm twitched in slight fear but he was prepared, his confidence was at an all time high and he was on top of the world. He had a mission to complete and he wasn't going to let anyone get in his way of it.

"Two on one? I like those odds… let's dance."

The two girls sat at a small cafe with a good view of the streets of Lumiose. They sat at a table further out from the rest and they both enjoyed the two drinks they acquired. They had been engaging in simple small talk and getting to know each other. Liz definitely had a lot to say.

"So check it, there was this one time when both Daniel and I were little kids and we were chasing each other around. He had a water hose and tried to spray me with water but I turned it around by splashing him with mud. He starts complaining like, 'Hey! I'm the one attacking!' before I yanked the hose off his hands and began to chase him down." Serena giggled once she heard this, having a slight blush to her whenever she heard the teen's name. Especially the visual image she pictured when imagining the memory.

Serena said, "Sounds like a lot of fun, He must've been a very happy boy before."

"Oh yes he was! He always had the brightest smile on his face. But tell me, what's going on between you and Daniel?" Serena looked up in shock, scrambling to gather her words. "Did you two break up or something? I haven't seen you two together for a while. You're his girlfriend, right?"

Serena's cheeks turned into a bright pink as she looked away, "N-no… we've never been like that."

"Then I'm guessing you love him, don't you? Just look at you, just talking about him in general makes your entire expression change."

"L-love? I'm not sure if that's how I would put it…"

"Are you… sexually attracted to him?" Serena's entire face turned tomato red and shook her head repeatedly.

"NO NO NO NO NO! That's even worse! Don't even joke like that, I would never think of Daniel like that!"

"I don't know, i've seen that look in other girls before, or maybe I just don't understand. But regardless of love and relationships… what's going on between you two? I know something happened. Daniel has refused to talk about it."

Serena felt that, her heart ached upon hearing it and she looked down towards the table. He hasn't talked about it? At all, not even with his family? She knows he went out somewhere a couple days ago and once he came back, he has refused to exit his own home. It was her fault, she did this to him. Serena understood that Daniel had an immense love for her unlike anything she's seen, she'll be honest, she can't quite return that same amount. She couldn't fathom it and though she did have a crush on him, there was a difference between the two of them, a difference that mattered immensely to her that forced her to reject the man who looked out for her more than anyone else. It was selfish, yes, but she needed to figure it out on her own.

Serena looked into the girl's eyes and explained, "I'll tell you because it's my fault, I hurt him like this and I don't know how to feel about it…"

"You don't need to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No… I'll tell you everything, everything leading up to this…"

Palkia swiped his arm across outwards and swatting away several pillars with the one strike alone. Bisharp leaped backwards, avoiding the incoming debris and hopping around. Dialga charged up a blast and fired out from its mouth, the beam cutting through the ground like a hot knife through butter. Bisharp barely managed to dodge it, Bisharp would like to believe he's winning but he's been forced to become defensive during this scuffle. Constantly having to dodge until he finds the opportune moment to attack. Palkia swooped up from behind Bisharp and slammed its fist into the ground, Fortunately, Bisharp evaded. Palkia caused the foundation he struck to burst and crash with tremendous power. The force of it causing everything to shoot upwards just slightly. The sound generated by the attack was powerful, the dark steel Pokemon knew he didn't want to take a direct hit from either of them.

Palkia turned its head towards the representative, and began lifting his arm upwards through the ground. Causing a crack in the ground to trail all the way towards the Pokemon and in a moment, the entire area burst and knocked Bisharp off his feet. Dialga came in with another blast readied up, attempting to blast Bisharp at point blank with it. Realizing this, Bisharp used the stone's power to teleport away from Dialga as the god of time zoomed past his original position.

Palkia grabbed Bisharp as soon as he reappeared and with all of his might, slammed the dark steel Pokemon into the ground like a hammer. The force generated from the slam caused the ground to cave in and a large crater to form around the area of impact. The representative was dug into the ground, face first as he was at least buried several inches in. Bisharp was in immense pain as he pushed himself out of the ground. Now that he had pushed himself out, bits of his head blade and his mask chipped off. His entire body was covered in bruises from the feet up.

Dialga and Palkia rose into the air and charged up to large blasts above them and together, they combined their attacks as they chucked it towards Bisharp. The Dark Steel Pokemon teleported away but not enough as the shockwave created from the explosion was enough to send Bisharp flying like a ragdoll. Palkia began to chase after Bisharp, the representative noticed the space around him and palkia began to distorted and Palkia began to come increasingly closer to Bisharp at an alarming rate. Dialga let out a cry and the colors of reality began to shift and in a moment, Palkia instantly appeared in front of Bisharp, giving the pokemon no time to react. Using the sudden increased momentum, Palkia struck Bisharp with a full force punch, causing the Pokemon's eyes to widen in pain as he is launched away even further.

Bisharp crashed into the ground, causing the entire area to be destroyed with a sudden explosion, as if a meteorite had hit the area at terminal velocity. Entire chunks of Bisharps blades broke off and half his mask was destroyed revealing his face underneath. Other parts of his body cracking from the impact and seriously damaging him and the ground destroyed. Bisharp had his eyes closed, as he attempted to regain himself, surprisingly, the Pokemon didn't scream once. His eyes shot open and he slowly got up, his legs shaking from how weakened he had become. In front of him, the two gods lowered themselves in front of the representative, ready to eliminate their target.

Bisharp did not twitch, he had no reaction upon seeing them. He stood his ground and his place, he held onto his arm which ached in pain but nothing else. He stared upon the two gods with his unforgiving red pupils. "_This is turning pretty messy, if I don't do something now: they'll kill me. But I've got a good read on all their abilities and power they have. If I pull off my plan properly, I have a chance of winning this._" Bisharp lifted his head confidently and smirked, "_No, I will win this, because I am the representative of creation, Bisharp, and I will see to it that my mission is completed." _and with little hesitation, he activated 50% of his power and began to emit blue lightning. He began to walk towards them both as they charged at him.

"Compared to him, I'm absolutely nothing." Serena explained, head hanging lower and her hair obscuring her eyes. Liz sat across shocked by what she just heard, she said, "w-wow… I didn't know you took it like that." Serena looked away, guilty expression on her face as she barely made eye contact with the cousin in front of her.

Liz said, "B-but… I don't understand… you know what you are to Daniel right? You know how much you mean to him, right?"

"I know… it's a personal issue, and it's kind of messed up… but look at it like this. Daniel had spent nearly his entire life working to get what he has now. He had went through blood, sweat, and tears to beat his brother after spending several years in his shadow and being humiliated time and time again. Even after that, he didn't stop, he took another large leap and became a representative of creation, where he is constantly putting his life on the line for the sake of others. He's amazing, he's an inspiration to many and is world renowned for his story. Then, take that and compare it to me. What do I have? Nothing. I'm a silly teenager who wants to become a performer. I want to be Kalos Queen to make everyone happy but I fail every time. Daniel never gave up, he worked until he had done it, but I'm here on the verge of giving up on my goal altogether. That's pathetic beyond words, it's a mockery to what daniel's fought for and has sacrificed. The comparison is non-existent, he's a legend while I'm worthless quitter, I can't disgrace his name by being with him."

Serena for the last year had been through a losing streak, after having trained in Hoenn, she participated for the role of Kalos Queen once more and failed. She began to lose confidence in herself by that point in time and the more she performed, the less appealing she was for everyone. She had barely acquired each of the keys a third time and was awaiting her final attempt at the Master Class.

Liz was very sympathetic towards the blonde, who covered her face and quietly sobbed. Liz furrowed her brows which curled upwards, he heart ached for the girl in front and she understood her feelings well. "So, you want to be able to prove yourself to Daniel? Just like he has with you and to everyone else?"

"Something like that… which is why I'm going to be doing one last performance… If I fail again like I did this time… I don't know what I'll do. I know its sounds selfish of me to quit for not winning but it hurts when your performances, which are meant to entertain people, don't. That and you compete against other girls who do the same thing and succeed, it takes a toll on your confidence. Especially after all the training and improving I did, I wanted Daniel to come back and find a new and improved version of me, I wanted everyone to see I had gotten better but look at me now. Barely passing, doing worse than before, and an overall failure."

Liz held her hand out to Serena and placed her hand on the blonde's. "Serena, I don't know what else I can say but just believe in yourself. I was impressed by your performance, if you want to win Daniel over like you want, you have to tackle your problems with the same determination as him. Have faith in yourself, because I believe in you and you definitely know Daniel has immense faith in you."

"It's that faith I don't' want to let down and it makes me terrified to fail again."

"Our faith in you won't waver, regardless if you win or lose. We're here for you, think about winning to finally prove yourself to Daniel, alright? Only then will this problem finish. So if you're that worried, I'll cheer you on as you keep training, I'll stay with you at all times and give you 100% support. Alright?"

Serena uncovered her face and her eyes were slightly red from crying, she sniffled and muttered, "Yeah…"

Bisharp dodged an attack as he bounced around the area both gods were attacking, Both continuously firing off attacks and attempting to reach the Bisharp but the representative was a moment faster. The Dark Steel Pokemon had begun to perfectly time his evades, even when Palkia manipulated space and Dialga manipulated time, Bisharp's reflexes increased the longer the fight lasted. Bisharp remained in the same general area, not allowing the two gods to leave their current position as they swung and missed the Pokemon each time.

However, their timing got better too and Bisharp noticed how narrowly he was beginning to dodge the attacks and knew he needed to kick things into motion now. He decided to start playing a bit dangerous, and jump directly towards Palkia, he landed on the large Pokemon's body and hopped onto the next. He proceeded to change up his pattern and move on and around them. As Bisharp moved towards Dialga, he was swatted away by the creature's head and sent flying towards the floor. Bisharp recovered quickly, regaining balance and landing on his feet. As he slid back. Palkia swung down low and raised its voice as its large fist came ever so closer to Bisharp.

The representative closed its eyes and relaxed as he anticipated the punch. Right at the moment of impact, he opened his eyes and the punch was stopped dead in its tracks. The two gods generated a "huh?!" sound as they both remained in place, frozen and unable to move. They started to notice a glow coming from multiple sources and it soon revealed itself. A string with a familiar magenta color held together by Bisharp. There was a humongous magenta colored web spanning the entire area surrounding the three pokemon. The web tightened and restricted the two gods in place as it tightened around their neck, arms, and other positions on their body. Palkia tried to break free but had the string around it tightened by Bisharp

"Plan: Successful."

Bisharp relaxed as he held the two strings in each hand in place. "Those strings right there are created using my energy, they're made to be very durable but at the same time: highly reactive. So don't bother trying to get out." Bisharp explained, he began to think to himself, "_Sorry, but I have a mission to complete because I have a brother waiting on me, and NOTHING is going to get in my way of that._" Bisharp took a deep breath, taking in the air very slowly to relax his nerves. Then, with a powerful shout, erupted the red lightning of 100% full power. The Dark Steel pokemon tied the strings together and backed up as he charged up an attack. Bisharp initiated several poses before muttering to himself, "Now… take this: BLOOD MOON SLASH, VARIANT 1!"

Bisharp shot his arms outwards releasing a dark aura causing the sky to lose its light and the sun became a dark red entity. Following this, a torrent of magenta colored projectiles shot down and blasted the two Gods. It didn't stop there, more and more and more and more rained down upon the two Pokemon, firing at them at a speed faster than a machine gun. The force of the attack causing the ground to rumble like a high-magnitude earthquake and the sound was unbearably loud. The shockwave generated from each blast caused the representative to be blown back further and further with each hit. Following each blast, came a consecutive chain-explosion generated by the reactive strings dealing even more damage than before.

Smoke covered the area which slowly expanded, but, a magenta light glowed from within and the smoke retracted as everything imploded and was sucked into the center of the blast. And finally, came the main event, A red dome of light covered the entire area as it continuously expanded to an unbelievable size. Finally, the dome created the last and final explosion as EVERYTHING in the area was blown over or destroyed by the shockwave. The pillars of the temple were obliterated and the temple was knocked down, the ground was lifted off the foundation and the shockwave sent everything still in-tact catapulting further away like a speeding bullet.

The entire area was covered in smoke and once it had cleared it, revealed a gigantic crater spanning several dozens meters in radius. Bisharp had barely covered himself from the attack but was luckily still alive, his back on the ground, or rather what was left of it. Bisharp was out of energy, however, and his lightning faded away and the strings broke in front of him. It drained the representative of his energy. The dark steel pokemon barely managed to stand up and his legs became a shaky mess. He could probably kept himself standing for a little bit before falling over like a baby learning to take its first steps. There was no way Bisharp could defend himself and he prayed that the battle was over or at least they were incapacitated for the moment.

Before he could react, Palkia distorted the space between them and he rapidly approached the representative, reaching out to him like death. Bisharp raised its arms in defense and he squinted his eyes as he prayed to himself. He hoped to Arceus that some miracle will save him or he could have the energy to at least evade before he gets killed.

The punch never connected, Bisharp unguarded himself to see Palkia floating completely in place with nothing restraining it. Dialga also had the same treatment, also frozen in place. Bisharp wobbled out of the way and looked towards the gods, they weren't tracking his movements. Their eyes had now become a bright blue color and they remained absolutely in place. The dark steel pokemon attempted to reach them and grab their attention but they were unwavered by his futile attempts. He noticed they were covered from the top down in their own blood and bruises.

"They've stopped moving… As if time just suddenly… stopped?" Bisharp tried to retreat and thought to himself, "_But it's impossible to stop time… so if not that, then what did I do...?_" He heard movement behind from behind as he heard a crash. He turned around to see Palkia had rammed into the ground fist first and looked around in confusion at what had just happened. Bisharp entered a defensive stance and shortly after, "_I'll have to figure it out later._"

Before Bisharp could even prepare himself for anything else, the world became pitch black to him, as if every possible color and light was drained and all that's left is darkness. He heard a quiet growl come from behind him, causing the representative to slowly turn his head.

The god of destruction, Giratina, stood directly behind him, towering over him like a gargantuan beast unlike anything Bisharp seen. The sight shocked and terrified him seeing the god look down upon him with its red eyes. "You've left quite a mess, Representative, what is your business here?"

Bisharp backed up cautiously, being on edge with his target in front of him. "I-i was sent by Arceus to find you."

"Is that all?"

"We need to know if you've acquired a Representative of your own."

"A Representative of Destruction? Yes, I've acquired a very suitable one, and in the process of recruiting another."

"Ah… so there's two…"

"Yes, The first is wonderful, the spitting image of me and my nature as a destroyer. The other one is not quite groomed yet but once I draw out his inner demons, he will surpass the first in every way. Their white hair and black eyes of death are what separates them from you creators. But enough talk, I have given you more than enough information. Leave now and never come back, Representative, or I will disintegrate you without a second thought."

"Y-yeah… I'll leave now…"

Before Bisharp could process it, He had returned to the beautiful planes in which he was previously travelling, he looked left and right and there was no sign of the battle that had just occurred. He was in the same spot as last time before he was transported. The flying creature from earlier perched itself on Bisharp's damaged shoulder and pecked at his head. The representative had no idea what to think of it all, but he knew one thing was clear. He was done, and he had to tell Daniel, fast. Using the abilities of the Arceus Stone, the representative reached out to his sibling wherever he may be in hopes of telepathically communicating with him.

Daniel was in bed now, simply staring at the ceiling, he began to receive a headache when he heard some sort of high pitched noise in his head. Then, he heard it, it was his brother Bisharp who told him everything he had discovered. Daniel was shocked by this but what shocked him most of all was the news of the Representative. He immediately thought of Engano. The more he thought, the more it made sense. The hair and eyes, and his abominable personality. Everything made sense now to Daniel on why the crime lord knew so much.

Engano was the Representative of Destruction.

Next Time on Nothing to Arceus: Aftermath, Chapter 9

"I'm going to be performing in the Master Class once more, care to watch?"

"Of Course I'll watch, sign me up!"

"This is it, it's now or never. I've got to win the master class to prove myself to everyone!"

"If you love me, then-"


	9. Chapter 9, Coming to Terms

Opening 2: Polaris by BLUE ENCOUNT

Several days had passed and Daniel was laying on his bed, staring up at his ceiling in a daze. He had been blank and wanted to forget about all of his recently accumulated stress he had acquired but it didn't quite work. It was still on his mind no matter what he did, and keeping his distance from everyone didn't even help in the slightest. In that moment, he had decided he was done laying around and wanted to do something semi-productive. Feeling determined for the first time in the last couple days, he gets up and marches out of his home without waiting for anyone, he sets off to visit his mother.

He very quickly made it to the hospital and checked up with the nurses to make sure his mother was awake and his hopes were granted. He made his way towards his mother's room and slid the doors and made his way in. Laying on the bed, looking the same as before was his mother who smiled as she looked out the window, admiring the view she had. She heard the teen enter and immediately smiled towards the boy. Daniel did his best to force a smile back as he went to take a seat next to her. As he sat down, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Daniel was shocked to hear her ask the question, his eyes widened just slightly as he looked his mother in the eyes. "W-what? Nothing's wrong, why'd you say that?"

"Don't lie to me, I know how my baby boy looks when he's upset. Even if he fakes it. Now tell me: what's wrong?"

Daniel chuckled slightly, dropping his head in disappointment and answering, "Yup… you figured me out alright… yeah, there's a lot bothering me right now…"

"What's wrong, dear?" She held her hand out towards her son who took it without hesitation.

"Well… I guess the biggest thing bothering me is my guilt."

"What do you mean?"

Daniel let out an exasperated sigh as he tried to figure out how he can explain it. "Well… you remember Professor Roloane and his daughter? Well… they recently died…" The mother was shocked by the news but Daniel began to explain everything that had transpired, from the Foundation all the way to Roloane's suicide. He explained every detail and once he was done, he was letting the tears stream down and said, "And despite all that… I feel like it's my fault, like, I didn't do good enough, like I could've done more… I keep telling myself there's nothing else I can do but the possibility that I could've made a difference and couldn't take it infuriates me… and overcomes me with a sense of guilt that I failed as a person."

Daniel's mother remained in place and gripped her sons hand tightly, she couldn't bare to watch her son crying the way he was now. She thought to herself what the best way to counsel her child was. The words came to her and she spoke, "Daniel… this is a problem you've had since you were a child, but… You need to learn to forgive yourself. Dwelling on the past isn't going to do you any good. What happened, happened the way it did and there's nothing we can change about that. I understand your frustration and your desire to do good but you need to learn to accept what you have. What's important is that you did your absolute best, but take solace in the fact that Melissa's last moments were her happiest, with you. There's nothing you can do about what happened but it's your responsibility to live up to what those two saw in you and believed you to be. Melissa saw a brave, courageous, and selfless man in you. Not my boy crying about the past. They live on through you because you're here still, and as long as you still remember them and their memory, they will never be truly dead. So Daniel, please forgive yourself. Look at what you did, not at what you could've. It's that sort of pessimism which drives young aspiring boys like you into insanity. You're better than that though, because you are Daniel Barsony, my son, and the Unbeatable Champion. Move on, and live on, that is the only way you can get past your guilt. And only then will you become a stronger and more mature boy. So cheer up, I hate seeing my baby boy like this."

Daniel stopped crying shortly after, staring at the floor and acknowledging the words. He winced and hugged her, wanting to let it all out but he stopped himself. All he could manage was, "Thanks mom… you're the best." He didn't lift up his face, just remaining in his mother's embrace. The mother grew a smirk and began to rub her knuckles against his head back and forth, The teen began to do a mix of chuckling and groans of pain.

"Just because I'm sick doesn't mean I can't be your mother still."

Daniel found the statement amusing and made him laugh. This in-turn made his mother laugh and smile seeing she successfully cheered up her boy. "There, better now crybaby?"

"Come on, mom, that's not funny."

"Well, until you turn 18, you're still my baby boy, so no excuses."

"Fine" Daniel chuckled again.

"Speaking of which, have you asked out Serena, yet?"

Daniel stopped, remembered everything, and came back to the present where he turned to his mother and nervously chuckled, "Nope, haven't gotten around to it yet… sorry." A bead of sweat formed on his forehead as he felt embarrassed at the moment.

"That's all right, it gets scary asking out the girls you like. It's definitely the same with us girls, asking out boys we like can be the scariest thing. But usually, there's always some sort of excuse, even with relationships that seem like it should work out. There's always that "but" or excuse the other person has to justify their actions. Trust me, it's the same for both genders so don't feel bad. Oh, I'm sorry, I went off on a tangent there, I was just remembering high school for a moment. But like I said, don't worry about it and take your time, but don't take too long, right?"

Daniel smiled, "Yeah, you're right."

"Alright, now off you go. I know you have better things to do right now besides talking about crushes, right?"

"Oh, no, I'm okay with being here-"

"I said what I said, don't try to flatter me, I know you teenagers always have something to do with it. You definitely want to spend some time with the girl you like. Now off you go before I kick your butt."

Daniel stood up, telling her she didn't need to worry and laughed as he left the room, waving goodbye to his beloved mother. He began to exit the hospital and he thought to himself, "_You're incredible, mom. Any conversation you're in, you're somehow in control. Maybe I should let you have a crack at Engano. Hah! That would be something._" Daniel physically smacked himself in the face as he also said, "That's not funny."

Serena was at the Barsony door, her face slightly red from embarrassment and previous guilt. She came to ask the guys if they'd be willing to watch her upcoming Master Class performance despite what went down between her and Daniel the other day. She tried to run it through her head on what'd she say and how would she react to seeing Daniel or how the teen would react to seeing her in general. She cleared her throat and slowly raised her fist to the door to knock on it, before she could follow through, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Hey Serena." She spun around to see the teen she liked standing at the fence gate of his household, several feet away from her. Daniel's facial expression softened up and was one of curiosity. Serena felt glad to see the boy didn't seem to harbor any resentment towards her and seemed pretty normal around her.

"H-hey, Daniel!" She called, turning around and facing the teen as she took a few steps closer to him.

"Is there you needed help with?"

"Oh- uh, yeah. I'm going to be performing in the Master Class once more, care to watch?"

"Of course, sign me up. When is it?"

"In a couple more days, I'm going to be using the time to practice some more."

"Sounds good, work hard then. I'll be sure to bring the family to watch and see if I can gather some of the other guys to come along."

"Really? Thanks a lot, Daniel!" Serena instinctually moved in closer to give him a hug but she remembered what she did to Daniel the other day and stopped herself. Unfortunately, Daniel also had the same instinctual reaction as well but stopped remembering the same situation as well. It was a couple seconds of awkward silence before Daniel raised his hands to gesture a high-five. She was quick to return it and walked past him quickly, attempting to avoid the awkward situation even more. She felt something was wrong in her heart and felt she owed the teen an apology. She stopped right behind him and told him, "Daniel… about the other day, I'm s-"

"You don't need to be."

Serena's eyes widened and she looked towards him, his back was turned to her as he had said this. Daniel barely turned his head and was able to see her out of his peripheral vision. "You did nothing wrong, you had a reason for justifying what you did and I didn't understand that. So if there's anyone at fault, it's me. So I should be the one apologizing for making you worry like that."

Serena's heart dropped and she thought to herself, "_No! That's not it at all you dummy! You have this all wrong! I'm the one who's at fault, what are you talking about?! That's why I want to prove myself!"_ She looked to the ground and looked away from the representative, "Yeah, I had my reasons… Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later, then?"

"Yeah, I'll catch you later."

Serena went back to her household and as she did, Daniel watched from the edge of his vision, turning to face her door just as she closed it. "_Everyone has a reason… then… what's yours, Serena? Something is bothering you that I don't know._" Daniel turned his attention back to his previous task and entered his household just like Serena did hers.

Several Days Later, the day of the Master Class Performance…

It was a crowded and busy day, the chairs within the large room were filled left and right and Daniel and the others barely got the chance to acquire their seats. As promised, the teen brought his family, showed up, and almost everyone else they knew arrived with the intention of cheering on the blonde girl. The same events as last time had transpired, nothing new with Pierre still in his signature outfit and explaining everything as last time. Explaining a brief journey of the performers and how far they've come to make it to this moment. Daniel sat in between his brother and Liz, each and every audience member having the voting rods used to decide the winners.

In the break rooms for the performers. Serena sat by herself in the room, none of her former rivals around to boost her morale or motivation. But that's okay because her greatest sources of motivation were waiting for her in the stadium and she had their support. She was anxious though, somewhat rocking back and forth as she sat on her chair, already having applied everything she needed for her performance. All of her ribbons and necessary bits of makeup needed were added. She looked around at her competition and there were returning rivals from previous bouts and completely fresh faces she's never seen before. Each and every one of them sharing the same attribute: they carried themselves with immeasurable confidence and pride, each proud of what they do and so sure of their victory.

She could admit she was a bit jealous from the way they carried themselves despite the challenge, but she wasn't going to let that bring her down. She had a competition to win now and this isn't going to stop her. After several agonizing minutes of waiting, it was finally her turn to perform alongside her opponents. Each of them glanced over each other, the other two looking down at Serena as if they were in another league than her. Serena took offense to the gesture but it fueled her drive to win.

Each girl went up to the stage, and it was Serena's turn to perform first. Her heart started to race as she took center stage and looked outwards towards the audience. She tried desperately to look for everyone she knew but they were all cast in shadows, hidden amongst a blanket of observers.

"And starting us off for this round, we have Serena Ferris beginning our show! She's a returning performer with plenty of experience on her belt, now her third attempt at the title of Kalos Queen. Give it up for Serena Ferris!" Everyone in the crowd clapped and everyone Serena knew cheered.

"_Wait… third one?_" Daniel took note of the statement, furrowing his brows and crossing his arms with one leg over the other in an attempt to get comfortable.

The spotlight all targeted Serena now and every other possible source of light in the room was silenced. "_This is it, it's now or never. I've got to win the master class to prove myself to everyone!"_

Serena had her Delphox besides her as her partner for this round. Serena closed her eyes and began tapping her feet against the ground in a rhythmic beat. Delphox took its wand and generated a spiral of flames surrounding the both of them. Serena began to sway from side to side now, getting more into the beat she generated into her head as Delphox created a calm tornado-like spiral of flames. Once the flames reached its peak, Serena spun around and pointed out towards the audience but she felt as though she was truly pointing towards one person.

Serena began to twirl around the circumference of the flames much like a ballerina as her Delphox generated a stream of flames shooting through the tornado. The funnel structure expanded and reached a breaking point as it evaporated into a bright ember falling down gently upon the stage like snow. Serena took her Delphox's hand and the two of them spun continuously around the stage. Their movements weren't random, but formulaic and in a pattern. A shape began to appear in the stage as the Delphox casted a flame as they spun, leaving a trace of their movements as they moved. They formed a heart-shaped which made the audience gasp in shock. The partners ventured to the center of the heart, Delphox spewing fire upon the stage and causing the flame to spread and reach the outline of the heart. Causing the flames to spike upwards. Delphox created a ball of fire above the two of them and made it slowly rise into the air. The fireball absorbed and consumed the spiking flames as it spiraled around the ball to make it even larger.

Serena and Delphox raised both their hands together as the ball became one mass of flame. Together, they closed their fists and made the fireball burst into hundreds upon thousands of bright ember particles. Large enough to reach audience members in the back as little children and adults alike reached out for the embers which died out upon touch. Serena and Delphox bowed and the audience began to clap. Daniel and everyone else cheered and screamed Serena's name repeatedly, Daniel most especially as he much enjoyed the performance before him.

Serena's legs were shaking, and her heart raced. She had never felt this nervous or tense in her life. Not even her first time being on stage had she felt like this. Probably because now, there was more at stake for her. She had to win, she needed to so she can be happy once and for all. She bowed once more and left the stage to surrender it to the other performers.

However, quite some time passed and each of the performers got their turns, the second one after Serena performed with more confidence than he's ever had, this one was cocky. But once they were done with their performance, the audience reception to the girl was much greater than that of Serena's. The crowd hollered and cheered unlike anything he's seen before, not since his victory over Samuel. It didn't end there, the third was an upcoming newbie who had made headlines apparently and was pretty popular. The reaction to her was unbelievable and she completely captured the hearts and minds of the audience members watching. Daniel sat in skepticism, not giving into the performances of the other two but he couldn't deny what he saw.

It was now time to decide the winners, and all the performers stood on stage looking out towards the audience. Daniel's eyes were solely on that of Serena's, waiting for what's to come. Pierre walked everyone through the procedure on voting and once he was done, it began. An endless torrent of multiple colored lights shot out from the rods and reached the holograms they were color-associated with. It was impossible to tell who was winning because of the torrent, though Daniel did often see the same two colors in repetition more than he did a different third one. The results were decided, and the audience had cast their vote...

Serena was voted the least out of everyone else, while the other two girls completely decimated her vote count with theirs. The popular one ultimately won in the end and the crowd exploded in cheers as if they had been anticipating this their whole lives. Through the crowd and audience members standing up to clap, Daniel refused to move. His expression did not waver, his position did not change and his eyes were still locked to Serena, waiting to see her reaction. Then, his mother's words echoed to him once more, "_Everyone's got a reason…_" He watched Serena intently.

Serena was devastated, heartbroken, shattered by the results. Everything she had worked hard for, all of her practice and it only lead to a devastating defeat for her. She couldn't even describe it in words how she felt, everything rode upon this and she failed miserably, she disappointed herself and no way in hell she impressed her crush. Serena had taken losses before but it was never this bad for her, this was it: she was done. Though she didn't move, she began to shake slightly as the tears went down her face and she quietly sobbed, attempting to remain quiet as to not draw any attention.

Daniel saw, his sharp eyes never failed him and he read Serena's body language like a book. The representative already talked to her before about taking losses but she never reacted the way she did right here. Before, she cried because it was her first time being embarrassed, her first time losing but she moved on and took the rest of the losses like a champ. Here? She crumbled, it was almost like everything she knew and believed in rode on this moment here and it was decimated before her eyes. Now having a clear picture of Serena's predicament, he mumbled to himself, "So this is why…"

When the performers were dismissed, Serena was very quick to excuse herself and leave. Everyone around Daniel complained and brushed it off merely as a "better luck next time" type deal. Not Daniel, her body language gave the teen bad vibes and as everyone sat down, the representative arose from his seat. He knew he had to confront her, this is bigger than his personal feelings for her, this is a girl who's experiencing what he has and he needs to set the record straight while he has the chance. He left without a moment's notice, not bothering to inform everyone else of where he was going.

Serena grabbed her stuff, not even congratulating the victor and complimenting them. Neither did they so what did it matter? She walked past them all as each and every one of them looked down upon the blonde with disgust. She stormed out of the building and began to trot down the walkway leading up to the building she was leaving. It was dead, quiet, with no one around because everyone had already shown up. Serena was letting it go as she continuously cried and held onto her pokeball and clutched it tightly. She couldn't bare to face anyone in fact, not alone Daniel's. Then…

"Serena! Wait! Serena, come on!"

Of Course he showed up, it's how he is and it made her heart ache knowing she had to face him when she was not comfortable with it. She turned behind her to see the black haired teen rushing after her, eyes wide with panic as he began to come to a halt as he stopped a few feet in front of her. Daniel seemed exhausted from how much he exerted himself to catch up after her, "Serena… what, are you doing…?"

She couldn't handle it, his genuine love and concern for her which she couldn't return was clear here and it tore her apart. Forcing the girl to turn her back to him and beg, "Please… I can't do this right now…"

"No, tell me what's wrong. Why are you so bothered by this?"

"Daniel… you saw what happened in there, the audience was completely in favor of the other two girls…"

"And?! You can always try again!"

"I HAVE been trying again, MULTIPLE times in fact… but I'm just not good enough…"

"That isn't true, Serena, your performances are amazing, don't let the voices and opinions of others sway you otherwise."

"Daniel, you don't understand, I'm trying my absolute best and giving it my all out there and it's not good enough. The people aren't entertained and I fail as a performer. What's even the point of trying anymore at this point?"

"So you're telling me you're just going to give up?! Serena, you're making a mistake, you can't just.. Throw everything away like this! Please, I am asking you to keep trying because I've been in your position before!"

"Daniel… I know… It's because of our similar situations and our different responses now that I rejected you… You kept going while I'm giving up. I don't deserve to be with you, not at all…"

Serena began to march forward, leaving the boy behind as he desperately tried to catch up. He called out to her but she coldly responded.

"Daniel, if you love me, then don't come after me… I want to be alone, I don't want to see you or anyone else I know right now…"

Daniel stopped dead in his tracks, the girl continued to walk forward. He would like to go after her but to move from his position would be to displace his immense love for her. He watched, dropping his arms and observed as the blonde began to walk down a flight of stairs and disappear from his sight as the last remaining spec of her vanished from his sight. Daniel let the cold breeze blow over him as he felt empty inside. He failed again, he couldn't convince Serena, let alone help her with her problem. His previous feeling of guilt and despair began to consume him once more.

No matter how much you try to avoid it, you can't change fate, can you?

Before Daniel could let himself ponder the moment any longer, he heard movement coming from nearby. He whipped his head around instinctively and saw an unpleasant sight. Engano stood nearby, smirking and with his arms crossed. Daniel's eyes widened with rage as he entered a full spring and intended to hit the man with every ounce of rage he had. But before the teen could continue, the Representative in front of him put his hand up motioning for the teen to stop.

"Chill, I'm not here to fight." Engano declared, making the Representative of Creation stop in his tracks.

Daniel coldy responded, "What the hell do you want?"

"I found out about our little poke-human crisis from before."

"And?"

"Reflection caves."

"What about them?"

"That is the source of the problem, these little poke-freaks are spawning from the reflection caves."

Daniel lowered his arms but scowled at the man. "Why bother telling me?"

"Look, I know that you know what I am. Giratina already told me about your little Bisharp and how he discovered us. I figured considering how much time you spend trying to find us, we'd at least make sure you guys still do your job."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"As representative, your role is to protect life, is it not? Would it be uncharacteristic of you to not address this issue and terminate it for the sake of everyone else? It is a part of your job, yes?"

Daniel took a moment to process what the man said, he was close to thanking the man for the useful info but his guts refused to thank the abomination of a person in front of him. "I'm going then."

"I figured you would, well, I'll leave you to that then. Now tata~! I have business to attend to."

Daniel reached out towards Engano but the man disappeared through a portal that appeared next to him and gave the teen no time to react. Daniel drew his arm back and looked out towards the sun, acknowledging his new mission. The representative shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled back to the building, now with an aggravated and unpleasant expression plastered on his face.

Within the Reflection Caves waits nothing but Pain and Suffering for the Representative, oh how fun it will be to see him suffer. For now, we shall wait…

End of Chapter

Reflection Caves Arc now begins…

Chapter 10 Preview:

"Who the hell are you?... well, I'm Serena Ferris."

"Team TECH is extremely dangerous, don't mess with them!"

"So… what happened in the past?"

"200? Good… cuz that's how many times i'm going to break you."


	10. Chapter 10, Reflection Caves Part 1

"Daniel! Where do you think you're going?!"

Samuel blocked the door as his little brother stood a few feet in front of him, both of them displaying aggressive expressions on their face. Daniel responded coldly, "I have representative business to deal with, get out of the way, Samuel." He said partially demanding. Samuel took some offense to the delivery of the response and raised his voice.

"Daniel, what the hell's wrong with you?! Ever since a couple weeks ago, after you got back from that one investigation, you've been acting completely distant! You refuse to tell me or anyone else what's wrong and you just keep getting angry! Daniel, enough with this, tell me what's wrong so I can help you."

Daniel made a "tch" sound and blew it off, "There's nothing wrong besides the fact that I'm not being permitted to leave."

"Are you serious?! You're just going to do some more stuff without telling me what's up?! You know is furious with you, right? You haven't told her where Serena went and she's been missing!"

"For the LAST Goddamn time, I don't know where the hell she went! It pisses me off just the same. But right now, I have important shit to do so the longer you keep being a pain in my ass the way you are right now, the more danger everyone's going to be in right now!"

Samuel's eyes widened, this wasn't Daniel at all, this was a complete stranger in front of him. Samuel grit his teeth and slammed the door open, "FINE! If that's how you're going to be, then get the hell out!"

"THANK YOU!" Daniel raised his voice with sarcasm as he stomped out the door, refusing to look back as he activated his Arceus Stone and ventured off towards the Reflection Caves.

Samuel let out an exhausted and exasperated sight as he looked around and had peeked out her front door and gave Samuel a strange look as if questioning what was happening. The man's shoulders dropped and he returned inside to give himself a break and to calm down.

Several Hours Later...

Daniel found himself inside the Reflection Caves, he didn't know what exactly he was looking for. He's heard rumors about the caves but none of which have been confirmed. He simply remembers falling through to find the Arceus Stone a year ago. Other than that, everything was still a mystery to him. He then discovered one of the barricades blocking out one of the tunnels of the cave (placed there to avoid trainers, especially young ones to get lost and are thus placed as a limiter to avoid any danger) had been modified. It looked very different from the rest, he studied it and noticed there was a keypad built into it. It was odd but the more he inspected it, he noticed the outline of a door. This was interesting to him as this was very unusual. The representative didn't even want to try putting in any commands so instead, he used the Stone's power. He walked towards the door and with the Stone's power, he managed to phase through the barricade like a ghost and end up on the other side.

On the other side, was a very dark tunnel illuminated by LED lights trailing the sides of the tunnel. This was definitely the work of humans, but it made him question… who? His gut told him to venture down the cave and find what he can. So he did, he ventured for what seemed like minutes until he reached a crystal wall within a large room. Daniel looked around and he noticed several computers and pieces of technology lying around. However, there was no-one operating the room, the room was empty. The teen made his way towards one of the consoles and observed the contents, there was a very very cold cup of coffee on one of the tables and several other belongings scattered across the table. This concerned the teen but he looked at the computer screen for one of the consoles. The layout was confusing and it was a mess of numbers. He decided to study it and take his time learning what was happening on the screen.

Recent Transfer: Subject ?, Returning, Additional 2 Bodies.

60 minutes ago.

Daniel was confused, it was still active despite the emptiness? Or did something else happen? Whatever it was, he had to figure it out. He looked at the labels for the hardware and noticed the brand name plastered on each piece of it, "Property of Team TECH". This did catch his eye and he looked towards the crystal wall, so if there was transferring going on, where's the device and where does it lead to? He looked around and there were several gadgets clamped onto the wall but still nothing. Everything leads to the wall, so if that was the case, how does it work? Daniel placed his hand on the wall and the Arceus Stone began to resonate and emit a light. The teen looked towards it and back at the wall as he noticed his hand start to get absorbed into the wall. He was inclined to freak out but understood this was the way to go and fully submerged himself inside it.

Daniel began to zoom in a direction at an incredible speed, he couldn't tell where but it felt like he was being sucked into something, the flashing of colors and light zooming past him as he processed the transfer, nothing made sense but he had to roll with it. Soon, it became brighter and brighter until it became a blinding light and the teen shut his eyes and covered them.

In the same instant, he felt that he was sitting down on a hard surface but he couldn't see because he had his arms up still. He uncovered his eyes and looked around to see he was sitting on dry dirt in a relatively open area with trees beyond the perimeter. He looked behind him to see a crystal formation behind him, presumably what he had just exited. He got up from the ground and dusted off his pants and took note of his surroundings. The most peculiar thing was the colors of reality, everything in this reality appeared to be slightly more pale and the sky was of a lime green color which unsettled him. He can confirm he was in a different location because the sky isn't green and everything isn't pale.

He looked to the ground and noticed drag marks nearby, upon closer inspection, it appeared to be something relatively large being dragged across the dirt and it disappeared into the forest. He furrowed his brows and followed the trail. He ventured out for several minutes but he lost the trail and was simply walking through the woods at this point. However, he heard rustling from above, he was being followed. He didn't know what it was but he kept his guard up and the Arceus Stone ready. He continued forward and he listened for any sound, he was still being followed, his sharp senses never failed him.

It continued on like this until there was an abrupt sound from above and the teen stopped completely. He looked up towards the trees and and called out, "I know you're there, show yourself."

Something dropped out of the woods and made contact with the teen, his reflexes kicked in instantaneously and with one swift maneuver, he grabbed what had landed on him before he could be toppled over and threw it on the ground in front of him. It was somewhat heavy and he definitely felt it was a person, he didn't have any time to look at his attacker because his training had kicked in. The person attempted to kick the teen off his feet but the boy was faster, swatting away any additional punches that came his way and he pinned the person down with his elbow. The attacker attempted to stab the teen with a knife and he barely managed to catch them by the wrist and stop it.

Now that the rush was over, he looked down to meet the face of the attacker and his heart sunk. His attacker was a beautiful teenage girl with long, honey blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. It was none other than Serena, who stared towards the boy with a horrified expression on her face. Daniel immediately got off the girl and backed up several feet, terrified of what just happened. The girl sat up, knife pointed towards the teen in self defense as she trembled slightly.

"Serena…? But how?" He looked the girl up and down and noticed everything about her was more pale, and the biggest giveaway being the fact this girl had significantly longer hair, almost the length of what Serena had before she cut it. Regardless, he could recognize her face from a mile away and it was unmistakable who was on the ground in front of him. He put two and two together and deduced this must be the Serena of this reality.

"H-how do you know my name?! Who the hell are you?" she cursed, her expression becoming more focused but scared. Daniel was attempting to find the words, he's talking to an alternate reality version of the girl he likes who literally just attempted to kill him. How does he explain this?

"Well… I'm.. not sure if you're going to believe me but I am from an alternate reality from yours."

"I know that! You're not native at all! Now tell me who you are."

"Well, my name is Daniel Barsony, and what's yours?"

The girl's breathing hitched for a moment upon hearing his name, as if it was an instinctual reaction upon hearing the name. She lowered her weapon and answered with a skeptical look, "Well, I'm Serena Ferris… What's your deal, Daniel Barsony? What brings you to this reality?"

"Well, I'm here on important business because in my reality, I'm the Unbeatable Champion, AKA: The Pokemon Champion of Kalos. And on top of that, I am also my world's Representative of Creation, not sure if you know what this is but I am."

Serena gave him a confused look and got up from the ground as she dusted herself off, "What's a Representative of Creation?"

"Well… just consider me one of the good guys, here to do some good things."

"Pfft, I've heard that before." Serena said as she rolled her eyes.

"You're not very trusting, are you?"

"You got that right, believe me, when you've been through what I have, you'll see how hard it is to trust anyone." She turned her back to Daniel and began to walk away. "Anyways, if you really are what you say you are, then follow me, I have something to show you."

The blonde discarded her weapon and began to walk with the Representative following behind. It had been a long walk with nothing but silence between them two but they arrived at a house on top of a hill, it appeared old and decrepit. Serena marched up the hill with Daniel following behind, he looked around frantically to make sure they weren't being followed and they weren't, fortunately.

Serena entered the building, it was small so there wasn't too much room. Daniel followed her inside and was surprised by what he saw. Sitting in the corner of the room they were in was Ash Ketchum who looked no different than before, but the boy was curled up in a ball just staring at the small fire they had created. Next to him was Clemont who appeared the same. Serena stated, "I'm home."

Clemont and Ash both lifted their heads and smiled upon seeing the girl but changed their expressions upon seeing the Representative. "Who's this?" Clemont quired, giving the teen an threatening expression.

"This is Daniel Barsony, he's from a different reality."

Both of the boys in the corner jumped when they heard the name and backed away from the Representative as much as they could. Ash muttered with little confidence, "D-D-daniel Barsony?! Why'd you bring him here?!"

"Ash, calm down. He's not THAT Daniel, this is someone else. He's our ally."

Ash and Clemont didn't drop their guard but they sat back down and continued to look upon Daniel, being visibly uncomfortable with his presence. Daniel had to ask, "What do you mean? What's the deal with this reality's version of me?"

Clemont was quick to answer, "This world's version of Daniel Barsony is a monster! He's the current leader of Team TECH! They're extremely dangerous, don't mess with them!"

Serena built off of Clemont's explanation and she told Daniel the following: In this reality, Daniel Barsony had taken over as the CEO of Team TECH after his father had retired and handed the position down. Daniel, Alongside his brother, Samuel Barsony, ran the company and with their wealth and power, began to spread the company into a more powerful corporation. Spreading out and gaining more power until finally, Team TECH took over Kalos with Daniel ruling over the nation with an iron fist. Anyone that dared to question Daniel's authority would pay the price, dearly.

Team TECH was massively known for their experiments and their most recent success with the Human-Pokemon Chimeras. The Chimeras were the staple of power for Team TECH and were mass-produced. Some humans received more mutations than others and the ones that did survive experimentation became Daniel's enforcers, watching over the masses with an eagle's eye. They were also permitted to do whatever they pleased as long as it didn't interfere with Team TECH's goal and business.

Daniel's expression was priceless after hearing all of that, he couldn't believe what he just heard. In an alternate reality, he's a dictator ruling over a country and responsible for the deaths of innocents? He couldn't even come to terms with it, he couldn't even fathom committing such an act but it wasn't him, it was a different Daniel who's gone through a different life. Daniel thought to himself, "_So Engano was right, so the source of the Poke-humans is the Team TECH from THIS reality. So if I take them out, I will finish the problem… but… why are they spilling into our world? Why are they kidnapping the homeless?_" Daniel, in-turn began to explain the recent happenings in his world with the Chimeras wreaking havoc and causing trouble for the last couple months in Kalos. He told them of his mission to terminate the threat because it's his duty.

"So you're on our side then?" Clemont asked, Daniel nodded and assured the teen that he was. They shared more information with him as a result, they told Daniel about how they're a small little resistance group and want to increase their group size to fight back against the tyranny of Team TECH but they've been unable to make progress. Their efforts have forced them into hiding and only appear like shadows. "We're going to be heading to Lumiose City later, one of the enforcers is coming to the city and we have to make sure everyone's safe."

"How strong are these enforcers?"

"Real strong, they can just about take out any Pokemon thrown their way. So if you plan on battling him, don't, you'll get pulverized like everyone else."

"Well, I'm pretty strong myself."

Clemont was baffled by the statement, mocking Daniel for his claim but Daniel explained the Arceus Stone to him. Regardless, no one believed him but the teen was determined to prove himself and they agreed to go to Lumiose City later to investigate the enforcer.

An hour had passed and Serena was standing outside, simply looking out into the distance and gazing at the pale forests of Kalos. Daniel peered his head out, looking around and walking next to the blonde. He asked, "Umm… are you good? Like, are you doing okay?" Serena turned to him and then returned her attention back to the view.

"I'm doing fine… I'm just reminiscing about the past. A lot has happened to me so I can't help but think about it." Serena had her arms crossed, the wind blowing against her and making her long hair flow back. Daniel could tell the girl was troubled immensely by something and wanted to help out any way he can.

"So… what happened in the past?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Daniel furrowed his brows but not angrily, more out of concern, "Look, I know we just met and all that but in my reality, Serena Ferris is a very very close friend of mine. I'd do anything for her so I'm more open towards you because you're alike. I understand if you don't want to talk but just know I'm dead serious when I say I want to help, I want to put an end to this threat." Daniel went to place his hand on the girl's shoulder out of comfort without thinking as it was an instinctual reaction for him. When he placed his hand on her shoulder though, she shuddered and smacked his hand away quickly with her eyes wide with shock.

"Don't touch me!" She raised her voice, beginning to tremble slightly. Daniel was visibly hurt by the remark and she could see it, his eyes fell to the ground and he looked away in shame. He let out a sigh and turned around, walking back to the building realizing he couldn't do much else. Serena felt bad, seeing the Representative's concern and worry for her was genuine, she could tell. Before the boy could leave, she let out a deep breath and muttered, "I was raped…"

Daniel stopped and turned towards her slowly, his heart skipping a beat when he heard that. He turned fully and she looked back to make sure he was still there, she continued, "It was around last year, I was kidnapped by one of the Enforcers and brought in. I wasn't the only one, however… Me, along with several other girls were taken in and brought to the main man himself, Daniel Barsony. We were thrown into our own little cells, strapped to chains and stripped of our clothing. We became slaves to that bastard, the devil would enter our cells and humiliate us for hours on end, doing whatever he pleased while we were powerless to stop it. He would even let his enforcers in on the fun as well and we would be forced to endure multiple men as they exploited us. It was hell on earth for me to experience, and my prayers go out to the other women because they never made it. But I was the main focus, they seemed to enjoy me the most and harassed me like there was no tomorrow…"

Daniel's heart sunk to his feet and he covered one of his eyes in distress as he mumbled to himself, "Dear god…" He slowly approached the girl but he wanted to let her finish explaining. Her voice progressively became more soft and broken up as she shivered, memorizing her traumatic experience.

"It wasn't until several months of being locked in when I was rescued by my boyfriend, Calem. Him and several trainers raided the headquarters of the Team TECH establishment and I was able to be saved. But, before we were in the clear, Calem…" She began to cry, unable to finish her sentence and covered her face. Daniel moved next to her and wanted to give her a comforting hug but denied himself as he felt it wasn't appropriate.

"W-what happened to Calem?"

"He was killed… he sacrificed his life so I could be free and escape that Hell. Everyone else that had gone with him was murdered as well and I barely managed to escape by myself with Clemont's help."

Daniel couldn't believe what he had just heard, it was outrageous. This reality is nothing but hell for everyone, it is the worst possible thing Daniel could think of. This truly was a mirror/reflection word, because everything here was the complete opposite of what he has come to know and accept. He couldn't find any words to help her and all he could manage was "I-I'm so sorry… I didn't know…"

"I'm not the only one…" She looked behind and Saw Ash peeking out the window, listening to the conversation, his expression portrayed a severe lack of confidence and fear. He hid upon being spotted, Serena's eyebrows dropped when she saw this. "Ash was also deeply affected by this, too. Calem was like a big brother to Ash, the one he never had so I'm not the only one affected by Calem's death. If there's anything I would like to do, is to make him happy and move on from what happened but there's nothing I can do. There were other factors in his life that made him like this, like domestic abuse and such but I think Calem is what changed him the most out of anything. He hasn't been the same since…"

Daniel looked towards the window and kept his gaze on it, processing what he had just heard. This world was fucked up, and he hated it. He looked to Serena who was wiping her tears and he decided to himself: He's going to make this world a better place for the two of them, they deserved it after everything they've been through. And fortunately, it falls in line with his duty. So no matter what, he is going to eradicate Team TECH and bring peace to this corrupt nation. Daniel stepped forward and raised his voice and spoke, "I swear! As the Representative of Creation, I will destroy Team TECH and make this reality a better place! Count on it!". Serena looked at him and almost felt like smiling but she was more in awe at his sudden proclamation but said nothing of it, leaving it be for the moment.

Serena led the way to Lumiose City as the group followed behind, Daniel remaining in the back as Ash followed close to Serena, basically hiding behind her as she led the way. Ash appeared to be dependent on the girl, always staying by her side as if he didn't have anywhere else to go. He can understand his pain, wholeheartedly, but Daniel only wished he had someone like Serena to guide him at that point in his life. He remembered his brother, Bisharp, and felt upset about their separation. Daniel did miss his brother, more than anything else, and wanted more than anything to talk about his problems to Bisharp because he would understand. No one understood Daniel better than his best friend and brother, Bisharp. They shared the same burden and responsibility.

Daniel spoke up, "So what's the plan exactly? Are we just going to make sure this 'enforcer' doesn't hurt anyone?"

Serena answered, "Basically, however we can but usually, the enforcers like to parade around and flaunt their power while at the same time, looking for anyone that's suitable."

"Anyone that's suitable?"

"Yes, usually, the enforcers will look out for girls they take a particular interest in and take them. No one has any say in it and any attempt to fight back will get you killed."

"Have you tried to stop them?"

"We can't. Period. They're too strong, those enforcers will tear through everything you throw at them. They're Daniel's enforcers for a reason and are a force to be reckoned with."

"Then how do you help people?"

"We keep them out of sight, at least spare SOMEONE, even if it's just one person but it counts. No one is happy with this dictatorship but there is literally nothing we can do besides hide. In a one versus one, the enforcer wins. In a battle against multiple opponents, the enforcer wins. Simple as that."

The representative was curious now, he wasn't sure how he would fare against one of these enforcers. He could handle the normal chimeras just fine but if these enforcers put the chimeras to shame, he's in for a fight.

They entered Lumiose City just in time, there were hundreds upon thousands of citizens gathered up in the center of the city, in front of Prism Tower. The group managed to squeeze in but did their best to obscure themselves, there was chatter and gossiping amongst the masses, strangers giving Daniel strange looks as he squeezed past everyone. There were several large screens set up and being displayed on them was a view of the stage directly in front of Prism tower. Several Security guards stood within place, weapons in hand and they remained stationary.

A loud honking sound echoed across the city and the masses were silenced with one motion. The group looked at the screens to get a better view of what was happening. Their large speakers generated footstep sounds as a figure approached the podium of the stage. It was a man who had messy black hair and blue eyes, the man's expression consisted of a twisted smile and his eyebrows raised in conflicting ways, as if they were communicating two opposite emotions from the man. One of his pupils was smaller than the other but he kept his cocky grin. He wore a simple black and white suit but his tie was a mess and poorly tied but it didn't seem to affect the man. The suit in question appeared very loose on him and was quite baggy for what it was.

Serena visibly gasped which caught the attention of the group, she appeared horrified by the sight of the enforcer and started backing up, arms brought up out of habit. Daniel asked, "Serena, what's wrong?"

"I-i-i-it's him…!" Daniel looked to the man and seemed perplexed by the remark, it was obvious who the man was but something else had to be up if he was terrifying Serena this much.

"What's the deal with him?"

"He's the one… who took me in!" Daniel whipped his head over one more time towards the enforcer who now placed his hands on the podium and turned his head left and right as he watched over the silenced crowd.

"He was?"

"Not just that… out of everyone else that had hurt me… he was the worst, whenever he stepped into my cell, I was always left in pain. My entire body would hurt and he would always leave me bloody and bruised. He's psychotic…" Serena was backing up even more, and bumping into someone accidentally who cursed at her to watch her step. Ash called out to Serena and had his arms out as if reaching for her. She pulled him into a comforting hug as she held onto him tightly and kept her terrified expression. Ash was blushing at this but didn't say anything else as he remained within her embrace, as if he was calming down.

Daniel saw this and partially wished they switched positions for the moment. But that didn't matter right now, the extent of Ash's dependency for Serena became more clear but she wasn't comforted nonetheless. She was only helping Ash and her worry was still existent.

"Alright maggots, you're probably wondering what I'm doing here. The answer's simple: because I can. I know that might not come as a shock to y'all but anyways, being serious, real talk. I've heard rumors that some of y'all have been rebelling Team TECH in small ways, this ain't cool, y'know? One of our suspects goes by the name Serena Ferris, she's an escaped slave of 's and we need her back or else she'll cause a lot of trouble." The man was looking around, observing the reactions of the crowd as he spoke. His eyes stumbled upon a woman clinging to her husband as she held onto him even more upon being spotted by the enforcer. "HOT DAMN! Guards, you see that chick with the big ass rack? Bring her here!"

Several security guards marched towards the woman and forcefully grabbed her and attempted to tear her away from her husband. The man screamed at the guards to let her go but they beat him. The woman screamed and cried for help as she was dragged away.

The screams and cries set Daniel off, it sounded like Serena on THAT day with Calem, the day he is forever haunted by and will never forget. A switch was turned on in Daniel's mind when he heard the woman and he reacts without thinking about it. His eyes dilated and time slowed down for him as he resonated with the Arceus Stone and tapped into its power. Sudden green electricity shot out from the teens body and a bright blue aura followed suit before the teen practically disappeared in an instant.

Daniel was right next to the Enforcer, time still slow for the teen as his leg was brought back all the way. The group's eyes widened with shock and the crowd followed. The Enforcer barely turned to look at the Representative but time went back to normal for Daniel as his leg struck against the enforcer at full force with the speed of a bullet, rocketing the man into one of the screens and destroying it. The entire audience gasped and the security guards turned around to see Daniel standing where the Enforcer was. They all stopped what they were doing and trained their guns on the teen, "OPEN FIRE!"

They all shot their weapons towards Daniel, a hail of bullets rapidly approaching him, The representative furrowed his brows and remained in place as the bullets passed right through him like a ghost. The security guards continued on firing until they had emptied out their entire magazine and was surprised to see the teen still standing and undamaged by the barrage. They were quick to reload their weapons but Daniel seized his opportunity to strike and reached out towards the weapons and grabbed ahold using Psychic. Each of the guards weapons were ripped out of their hands and as they cursed, the teen launched the weapons directly at the guards head. The force of the weapon making contact with their heads was enough to knock all of them unconscious as they toppled to the floor like ragdolls.

The audience was scrambling and citizens ran away, screaming as they fled from the scene. The group remained to watch, astonished by Daniel's abilities and powers as he had dispatched of them all with such ease. Serena held Ash close as the people running away threatened to knock them over by accident if they weren't careful.

The Representative tilted his head to look at the destroyed screen with the enforcer still inside it, he grabbed ahold of the screen with psychic. Exerting himself, he forced the damaged screen to contort and bend as it formed around the Enforcer and formed into a ball as it crushed him inside. Once the ball was formed, Daniel held the ball in the air with one hand and with his other, coated it with a separate orange aura as he prepared a power-up punch. Daniel forced the ball towards him and he brought his fist back to strike the object. With a powerful shout and refusing to waste his time, Daniel struck the object with full force and completely obliterated it, absolutely destroying the ball and breaking it into hundreds of pieces as the Enforce inside was covered with blood and shot back several dozen feet.

"H-he actually did it! He managed to take out the enforcer!" Clemont called out, Serena had a very shocked face but it was one filled with joy as well. Ash was mesmerized by the events and his eyes shined upon seeing Daniel with his blue aura.

Daniel remained in place and the electricity faded, he couldn't believe how easy that was when he didn't waste his time. He looked at his fists and opened it and clenching it once more. He turned his attention back to the Enforcer to see if he was really out for the count. The enforcer simply got up and groaned in pain, the way he got up was like he got out of bed. The enforcer stood up and brushed off the glass and wiped away some of his blood as he was laughing, "Wow! That was one hell of a hit, kid. Unfortunately for you, it'll be your last." The enforcer walked up onto the stage, merely several meters away from Daniel and he spoke once more, "Let me show you why I, Derrick, am one of the most powerful chimeras to date!"

Derrick shot his arms out as a powerful shockwave was emitted from him, Daniel was surprised by the force of it but the man began to mutate in front of him. He began to grow in size as his teeth formed fangs and his skin changed into a different color. Parts of his body began to jut out unnaturally and his eyes turned into a pure yellow. He looked like a hideous hybrid abomination of several pokemon he could identify. The man grew to an astounding 8 and a half feet in height and towered over the Representative. "Let's have some fun."

The enforcer teleported behind Daniel and grabbed ahold of his head as if it was a mere apple and tossed the boy into Prism Tower as if he were throwing away an unwanted toy. Daniel crashed into the building, Derrick jumped after him and struck the boy with a mighty punch, digging the teen into the building as he coughed out in pain and spit shot out. The man's arms were driving into his stomach and the teen threatened to vomit if pressued any more.

By then, most of the audience had cleared the vicinity and the group observed from the outskirts as the entire area was now empty.

Derrick grabbed Daniel by his leg and ripped him out of the building and chucking him away towards the floor. The Representative barely managed to recover and regain his control as he landed on the floor with his feet and slid backwards just slightly. The Enforcer dropped down from the building and charged at the teen with incredible speed, staggering the teen as he couldn't believe a giant to move that quickly. Daniel brought his arms up in defense but it was meaningless as the man slammed his arm into the teen and broke his defense and launched the teen back with sheer force. Derrick stopped himself and grabbed ahold of Daniel's face once more before jumping into the air and shoving the teen's face into the concrete floor.

Serena and the others screamed when they saw this, Serena knew they had to get out before they were spotted and dragged the other two away. Ash called out, "W-what about Daniel? Are we just going to leave him there...!?"

Serena bit her lip as she dragged them away, "He can handle himself, _I think_, We have to worry about ourselves right now and get out of danger."

Derrick stood over Daniel and smirked, "What a weakling, didn't even last a second." He turned around and began to walk away, disappointed. He heard something move from behind and he looked back to see Daniel budge from his position. He placed his hands on the floor and pushed himself off of the ground and managed to fully stand up. "There we go, that's the way." Daniel's entire face was bloody and his nose was broken, the blood traced down his forehead and dripped over his eyes.

Daniel stated, "Don't count me out just yet, I'm a lot more durable than you think. So… you're the one who hurt Serena… you're the one who hurt her the most." The representative furrowed his eyebrows angrily, and the green electricity sparked from his body once more and his pupils began to glow a bright red. His arm began to shake as he clenched his fist tightly with a burning passion. He assumed a fighting stance and locked eyes with his opponent.

"Heh, a persistent one. Alright, if you're able to predict where I'll be next, I'll be impressed." Derrick vanished at that moment, disappearing from sight. Daniel let out his breath and breathed in and his eyes shut calmly. He entered a trance as he allowed his senses and instincts to take over. He awaited the moment the Enforcer would show himself. Daniel's eyes shot open and he jumped up into the air and spun around. As Derrick appeared in front of Daniel, he was surprised to be met with an incoming spin kick and was struck across the face and the man fell back several steps with a bruise on his cheek where he was struck. The enforcer smirked, clearly impressed with the Representative's maneuver and shook off the pain. Derrick exclaimed, "All right, kid, you have my attention… BRING IT ON!" The two warriors lunged towards each other and threw a punch towards one another which connected.

Bisharp was walking through the terrain, he simply followed Daniel's energy. He didn't care where he was at as long as he knew Daniel's energy was still present. He was alerted by the fact that he felt the teen's energy begin to fluctuate, it felt like the teen was in danger and needed help. Bisharp knew he needed to hurry and had no sense of scale on how long it would take him to reach his brother but no matter what, he WILL reach his brother and come to the rescue, he will guarantee that. He's had enough time to recover and the Arceus Stone healed Bisharp's previous injuries from his last battle and he was back in fighting shape. "Hang on, Daniel… I'm on my way!"

Derrick was pushing with all his might as Daniel held his punch back, the boy's arms were burning stiff as they struggled to hold the punch back. The teen redirected the attack and used his opportunity to strike the Enforcer. They proceeded to go back and forth and go through a steady series of hits and blocks and they continued to strike each other. Daniel did back-handsprings to gain distance and once he landed on his two feet, he unleashed a blazing stream of fire and directed it towards his opponent. The Enforcer charged right into the flames and was absorbed within it as he disappeared from Daniel's sight. He didn't let his guard down though and continued blasting with his flames. Derrick emerged from the flames directly in front of the Representative and hit him in the face, forcing the boy back and breaking his attack.

Derrick charged at Daniel relentlessly, refusing to give the kid a break. Daniel fought back with the same persistence and went on the offensive as he threw several consecutive punches but each of which were blocked. He hopped up just slightly and built up momentum by spinning forward and slamming his leg on the man's shoulder, making him react with "Argh!" and he flinched from the pain of the kick. "You damn brat!" He yelled as he grabbed the boy with ease and threw him to the floor. The man rammed his fist towards Daniel in an attempt to punch right through him.

Daniel's eyes widened at the incoming punch and he rolled out of the way, Derrick followed up with another punch as each hit dug right into the floor. The Representative continued to roll away as the Enforcer bulldozed through the ground and progressed towards the teen. Daniel pushed himself away and quickly shot an ice beam at the man, freezing him over very quickly. He charged up a ball of energy in his left hand and uppercutted the man with the ball of energy. It caused an explosion sending the Enforcer into the air. Daniel jumped after him and brought his fists down upon Derrick and launched the man into the ground again and dented the floor impacted.

Daniel descended and he prepared to dive at Derrick, feet first, and just as he got close, his enemy quickly got up and swatted the teen aside with a powerful hit. Daniel rolled on the floor uncontrollably as the Enforcer chased after him with his fist dragging against the floor and with built up momentum, struck Daniel with enough force to send him flying. The teen roughly landed on the floor, further away from the Enforcer as he was bruised all over. Daniel saw that above him, was Derrick preparing to slam down on the boy once more, Daniel rolled backwards and used the shockwave generated by the impact to get him back on his feet.

Daniel focused on a Hyper Beam and fired it outwards, blasting it at the Enforcer and generating an explosion from the hit. Once the smoke cleared, Derrick was still standing, equally injured as the teen. Derrick smirked once more and complimented the teen, "Good job on surviving this long. But I think I've had my fun. I believe it's time for me to finish this fight!" Derrick began to lunge at Daniel with tremendous speed with a killer intent. Daniel prepared to counter attack.

"S-Serena!" Ash called, Serena was holding his hand and running away, she didn't look back. Ash felt extremely guilty leaving Daniel to fight all alone. Daniel had something that none of them did, confidence and power. If there was anyone that could be capable of making a difference, it would be him. Yet they're running away and leaving him to fight all alone? "Serena, are we really just going to leave him?"

She responded, "Yes! Because I have to get you two out of here, it's too dangerous!" Ash winced and ripped his hand away from Serena, her and Clemont immediately stopped and turned to Ash. Ash looked like he wanted to cry and he did. Their first glimmer of hope was about to go to waste because they were running away, when they could be helping and making a difference.

"No! I'm sick and tired of running away all the time. Daniel's out there fighting for us and I just can't turn my back on him now. Please! We have to go help him!" Serena got angry and objected.

"He's the only one who can do anything right now, we have to worry about ourselves right now, so shut up and and keep going!"

Ash felt a burning determination to follow through and with dexterity like he's never experienced, he managed to steal Serena's knife and run away. Serena cried out towards the boy and proceeded to chase after him as he bolted back towards the action. Ash held the knife in hand and he thought to himself, "_Just you wait, I'm going to come to the rescue!"_

Derrick was now like a speeding rhino, charging at Daniel with the intention of ramming into him. The Representative didn't want to get hit and ducked out of the way as the Enforcer charged past him. Derrick veered back and charged at Daniel once more, the teen awaited but was surprised when he suddenly teleported in front of Daniel and appeared directly in front of him. The man grabbed Daniel by the neck and slammed him onto the floor before proceeding to drag him through the concrete and tearing up the floor as he went along.

The teen's pain from being dragged through the floor was excruciating and he felt his clothes begin to tear and be destroyed and his skin becoming damaged. He needed to do something quick or this would be the end of him. Daniel's aura bursted from his body, strong enough to release Derrick's grip on him and using his brief opportunity to strike, he did. He released a quick barrage of punches as hard as he can into the man's gut, making him cough repeatedly and spit out with each punch.

Derrick got angry and forcefully grabbed the teen by the neck once more, "That's it! I'm through playing with you!" And slammed the boy into the ground once more and grabbed ahold of the teens neck with both hands and put his weight into choking the boy to death. "Aww yeah! I like this! You know, I've had plenty of fun with girls like this, if I had to give it a count, I'd say I've done this with about 200 girls!"

Daniel was gagging and gasping for air as he felt his neck being crushed slowly but surely. "_200 girls?! THIS SICK FUCK!" _He thought, unable to push the man off and he wasn't in a comfortable position to exert any strength of his own. He was losing his own strength the longer he was without air and he started to black out. Daniel thought to himself, "_Need…. Air….!_" Daniel reached out, he didn't know for what but he did and death was reaching for him with a cold embrace.

He heard someone shout and the sound of stabbing and blood splashing on his face. The grip on Daniel's neck loosened up and he gasped for air. He looked up and saw Ash on top of the man with a knife driven right into his back. Daniel was surprised by this, "_Holy shit! He came back!"_ He then felt a sense of urgency and raised his voice to him, "Get out of here! It's way too dangerous for you! Go!"

It was too late, The man turned around to Ash and towered over him like a giant. He pushed the boy onto the ground and with a mighty punch, he brought his fist down on the boy and all Daniel could hear was the sounds of cracking and screaming. He then took the boy and tossed him aside. Daniel choked slightly as his fear started to consume him and he called out, "ASH!" He got up and ran towards the boy who lay on the ground a bloodied mess. Daniel knelt down beside him and looked him up and down. Ash was barely breathing, his air intake was broken up and he couldn't even breathe properly. And on top of that, he was coughing blood.

Daniel started to get scared and supported the boys head with his hand and spoke, "Ash, you idiot! Why did you come back?! You were supposed to stay back!"

Ash lowered his eyes and let out a very weak chuckle mixed with a cough, "I wasn't… going to get our only hope… killed…" He said in between broken breaths. Ash tried to bring up his arm but it was shaky and he ultimately dropped it. He started to turn pale as bags appeared under his eyes. "Daniel… you don't understand… we need you to live… so you can save us…"

"Ash, what are you talking about?!" The boy's vision became blurry and the world suddenly became colder than it was before.

"Daniel… there's… something I need to ask of you…"

"What is it?"

"Please… protect Serena…" Daniel's eyes widened at the request and the boy tried once more to bring his hand up. Daniel took it this time to save him the trouble and look at his eyes. Ash began to shed tears as they trailed down the side of his face, "Please… protect her… she means everything to me… because I love her… She's the only reason I wanted to continue… That's why…! I had to save you, so you can protect her…"

Daniel grit his teeth and he shook his head repeatedly, "No! Don't' talk like that buddy, you're going to be alright!"

"Please!"

Daniel remained in place, a shadow cast over his eyes and he bit his lip before responding "... of course… that's not even a question…" Ash smiled, and allowed the rest of his tears to flow as his eyes slowly shut and his head dropped to the side. His body became more cold and pale as his body became lifeless. Daniel was at the brink of tears, his lip trembled from the sight and his eyes began to feel warm. He couldn't have failed again, his master already died in his arms before, he couldn't just let another person he sympathized die in his arms too. But it was too late and he realized this, he set the boy down and a tear went down his face as he cursed to himself, "You idiot… I'm supposed to be the one doing the saving…"

Behind him, the Enforcer was laughing his ass off and practically wheezing at the sight before him. "Oh! That's priceless! He really wanted to leave a bitch like her in your hands? He has poor taste! She's nothing but good fucking material and that's it! And believe me, I've gotten a good 200 girls in my line of work and let me tell you, she was something! Maybe you can learn something from me and we can both have a good time with her, what do you say?"

Daniel was slouched over Ash's body and a shadow was cast over Daniel's face. The teen didn't respond to the mockery and merely turned his head, his face obscured in darkness as the only visible thing to Derrick was his glowing red eyes. "200? Good… cuz that's how many times I'm going to break you." The representative responded in a cold and heartless tone. He turned around to face the bastard completely, his eyes dry now and his pupils dilated to a concerning degree.

"Hah! You're going to break me? You won't even get the chance!" The Enforcer lunged at Daniel, shouting like a hyena as he approached.

Without saying anything, the blue lightning of 50% full power erupted from Daniel's body as he counterattacked so quickly Derrick couldn't process it. Daniel unleashed a rage fueled, unrelenting, non-stop barrage of consecutive punches as hard as he can hit. Daniel was hitting at a rate equivalent to a machine gun, each punch of his breaking a bone in the man's body. With each punch, distorting the man's body. With each punch, the more he broke. Daniel wouldn't stop, he was going to hit this man 200 times as he said and as he unleashed his hate filled barrage, he continued to roar, "HATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAATATATATAT!"

Finally, with one last barrage, he summoned upon every ounce of stamina and strength he had to unleash his fastest and most deadliest barrage of punches as he pummeled the man into bits, rendering the man's bones to dust and ultimately flattening him as he yelled out, "HHHHAAARRRYYYYYYAAAA!"

And with one last mighty punch, the teen sent the enforce flying back and crashing into the stage set up earlier and completely decimating it upon impact. Daniel was wheezing for air, he had effectively landed several hundred hate-filled punches. As Daniel wheezed for air, he felt completely calm and relaxed. It felt like some of the pent-up stress he had been holding in reserve was finally released and he was finally able to relax.

He approached the man to make sure he was out for the count, Daniel decided to check on his heartbeat and used his abilities to check on the pulverized man. He sensed and heard nothing, he heard no heartbeat at all, and the man, just like Ash, became pale. Daniel's heart stopped just the same briefly and a thought ran through his mind, "_D-did I just… kill him?_" Daniel began to shake and his legs became wobbly. He looked at his hands which trembled immensely with fear, shock, and regret. "_I just killed someone…_" He took several steps back and stared at the horror of his creation. He couldn't process or believe what he had just done, in his rage, in the moment he had lost all control, he took someone's life. The realization made him collapse to his knees and he covered his face as he attempted to cope with what he had just done along with Ash's death.

You can't deny your demons, you have crossed a line that shakes your status as a Representative of Creation. The only thing left to do is take the next step, don't you agree?

Serena was looking around for Ash and as she searched through the city, she saw someone enter through one of the alleyways of the city. She figured it was Ash attempting to take a shortcut and she followed in pursuit. She entered the same alleyway and as she ran through total darkness, she bumped into something or rather, someone. She backed up and looked up towards the person she just bumped into. The man had distinct white hair and a red jacket.

"Why hello there, miss, if it's not too much trouble… I'll need to borrow you for a hot minute."

Engano smirked.

End of Chapter

Chapter 11 Preview:

"Serena's been kidnapped!"

"Hold on! I'm almost there!"

"Somebody… anybody… help me!"

"I-i-it's y-you!"


	11. Chapter 11, Reflection Caves Part 2

In the alternate reality of the reflection caves, Daniel Barsony is the leader of Team TECH and rules over Kalos with an iron fist. He resides within the Team TECH headquarters where all of their experimentation and work is done.

Inside of a large white room, filled with windows covering every spec of the room and providing a beautiful view of the headquarters and the sceneries of Kalos, was Daniel Barsony. Situated at the highest floor of the headquarters, it provides an eagle's eye view of the entire landscape. The young man sat at his desk, repeatedly tapping on his desk with a smile on his face. As he mindlessly continued this process, he heard a voice sound from behind him, following a gust of wind which entered the room. "Daniel Barsony."

The Team TECH CEO circled around in his chair and looked towards the source of the sound which came from one of his windows. It was wide open and hanging onto the frame of the window from the outside was Engano. Daniel fully revealed himself to the Representative of Destruction as looking no different than his counterpart, minus the distinct scar and his hair was in its previous state before being cut. Daniel furrowed his brows out of concern and questioned, "Can I help you?"

"Nah, I'm just here to help you. I've brought a gift." Engano tossed Serena inside who was binded up. The look on the girls expression was that of sheer horror, she was petrified to be in this place again as she looked around and saw the man she hated the most sitting only a few feet away from her. Daniel couldn't help but smirk, his prey finally returned to him…

Two Hours Later…

**INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! LOCKDOWN HEADQUARTERS! PREPARE BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!**

The sirens of the Team TECH headquarters blared and every available person prepared for a fight. Several personnel entered weaponized vehicles and drove towards the scene, leaving the headquarters to intercept the threat. Helicopters took to the skies to provide light to the ground units who searched within the forests of Kalos. Several units have already made contact with the intruder and are attempting to neutralize the threat.

"_Serena's been kidnapped!"_ Those were the words Daniel was told after getting his first kill, and those are the words that have led him to this situation. The Representative had the stone activated and running as fast as he possibly could, bolted through the forest while being chased.

The excruciatingly loud sounds of the incoming gunshots rang in his ear as he ran from the guards. They were shooting into the forest aimlessly in the hopes of hitting the teen. Daniel began to sweat, from exhaustion and his nervousness. He didn't recover from his last battle and continued to eat through his own stamina in pursuit of Serena.

A bullet went through his hair and the teen flinched for a moment followed with, "He's over here!" Daniel turned around and used his powers to block the incoming bullets from the person that spotted him. He tossed the person aside using Psychic and continued to relentlessly escape. His enhanced senses allowed him to pick up the sound of incoming vehicles honing in on his position: he needed to hurry. He was still being shot at, but none of the bullets hit. A barrage of bullets threatened to hit him from the side and if it wasn't for his quick reflexes, he would've been gunned down. He rolled under the swipe of turret fire and re-entered his sprint.

A bullet whizzed by his ear and he could feel the air displacement right next to him as it zoomed by. He took to the trees as he leaped into the branches and hopped from one branch to the next as fast as he could. He could hear something large incoming and it looked like a rocket of sorts. The teen cursed to himself as he jumped out of the trees right before the mortar hit, the explosion created by the artillery flung him into a nearby rock larger than the trees he ran through. He latched onto the rock and remained in place as he assessed his environment. The headquarters was close and almost within range. He discovered several helicopters homing in and a voice called out from below, "He's on the rock!"

A torrent of bullet fire hit his position and the Representative evaded by jumping off the rock and twirling several times in the air as he landed within a large and open area. He realized he was in a lot more danger being out in the open and attempted to run all the way across the open area. Several armored cars were weaponized with a turret and several men inside shot out from within the forest,revealing themselves. Daniel could hear them loud and clear and was alert to their presence as they rapidly approached, catching up to the teen in no time. They focused all their fire on the boy and in a desperate attempt, he created a Protect barrier around him which took the damage but was severely damaged. This was good enough for him and within each hand, he created a ball of energy and held them out behind him as he ran forwards.

They were VERY close now and it was now his time to attack, he performed a backflip and crossed his arms as he tossed the energy balls to his sides. His sudden stopping caused the vehicles to run right into the energy blasts and explode upon impact, burning the men Representative landed on his feet and charged through the flames, the helicopters had a clear visual of him now as their spotlights trained on the intruder. Luckily, he managed to hide within the forest once more as the establishment was near. He could see the light ahead of him and he raced towards it knowing things were about to get more difficult for him.

He jumped out of the forest and his eyes widened at the 50 foot drop leading towards the base, providing a clear view of all of its buildings. And to make matters worse, an army of chimeras awaiting him on the other side. All of them began to rapidly use long-ranged attacks to hit the teen as he barely managed to barrel out of the way and slide down the wall to slow his descent. Several dozen of them approached the teen as he was about to land. Daniel reacted quickly and stomped on one of the chimeras and avoided another's incoming attack. He spun in place and flung the chimera he landed upon into a nearby opponent, but several approached him. He did back-handsprings to gain distance from his opponent and when he finished, he grabbed ahold of them all using psychic, holding onto that many chimeras at once strained him but he could handle it. And with a powerful shout, he forced them all back and toppled them on their back.

Except for a few, amongst the army of chimeras stood a few that were large and gargantuan like Derrick. It was unmistakable, these were Enforcers. Five of them stepped in front of the knocked over chimeras and looked at the teen menacingly. Daniel had to admit, the sight of several large monsters looking down at him was intimidating. One of them spoke, "So, you're the one that trashed Derrick? Figured as much, I knew his behavior would land him in trouble some day."

Daniel assumed a fighting stance and remained in place as a bead of sweat traced down his face. He already had a difficult time handling one Enforcer, five is a bit much even for his standards.

"Derrick does like to talk big but he's nothing compared to us!"

Another one joined the fray and commented, "Mister Barsony only chooses the best of the best to remain within the headquarters, so consider us special."

"We're the ultimate tag-team so if you can't even get past us, don't even dream of handling the big boss."

"Heh, that's if you're even alive after this."

Daniel took the time to observe his opponents and get a rough evaluation of their abilities based on their mutations and appearances. They varied in size and strength for sure but their abilities varied widely. He had no way to tell what their powers were and the only way we would find out is in combat.

A cold silence filled the area and they all waited for something to happen, Daniel swallowed his own spit and furrowed his brows as he prepared for the challenge ahead. All five of them released a ranged attack which was coordinated on the teen's position. The Representative hopped into the air and avoided the attacks. Two of the Enforcers took to the sky and charged at Daniel. He began to engage in close quarters combat with one of the two but the second one appeared out of nowhere and grabbed ahold the teen's leg. Daniel was spun around and tossed at the floor very quickly, jarring Daniel's senses as he had to try and process what just happened. Fortunately, it came back to him and he stopped himself from hitting the floor and began to hover backwards above it. The two arial Enforcers chased after him, repeatedly shooting their opponent and damaging the floor they battled on.

Daniel managed to avoid them successfully but one of the other Enforcers zoomed towards him like a bullet, the teen flinched and barely managed to teleport before being hit by the speedster. The quick Enforcer slammed his fist into the ground and force of it split a part of the ground in two. Daniel reappeared behind the speedster and performed a signature spin kick but he was too slow. The speedster whipped around with ridiculous speed and back-handed the teen in the face and knocked out a tooth as he was flung back like a ragdoll. Daniel wasn't given a chance to breathe as the fourth Enforcer descended from the air and slammed his fists into the teen mid-air, forcing his body into the ground as it created a small crater.

The Enforcer brought his fist down upon Daniel but the teen vanished and soon, the Representative used all his might to grab it by the head and hurl him away. The result was the fourth Enforcer spinning forward and rolling on the floor just slightly but it didn't do much. The ground shook as he noticed an unnatural bump in the floor beginning to move towards his position. Instinctively, he did back-handsprings to move away from the target, presumably the fifth Enforcer. He was cut off when the speedster from before struck Daniel from behind with so much strength it took his breath away. The speedster hit him once more and he was knocked towards the fifth Enforcer who was in the ground. As Daniel unwillingly approached him, the Enforcer shot out of the ground and dove towards Daniel. The Enforcer slammed his arm into the teen's torso and with a powerful slam, forced the boy to cough out blood. Daniel could've sworn he heard something break down there.

Daniel fell on his back and he was left to stare up at the sky as his breathing was irregular. It was difficult for him to breathe and he gasped for air. From the distance and sitting atop a building, gazing at the scenery below was Engano who watched in awe.

"He's getting destroyed down there." The CEO of Team Tech remarked, the tips of his fingers touching as he watched the fight on a large tv screen. Besides him was his personal bodyguard who had his foot pressed on Serena as she was forced on all fours. forcing her to bow before the CEO. "So this is the man who's supposed to be saving you, eh? Doesn't seem like much to me. Hard to believe he's actually me from an alternate reality. How strange realities can be, wouldn't you agree?" He gave the blonde a devilish smile. The girl's cheeks were puffy and red, her eyes dried out as she was forced to watch what's on screen. This was just like before, her boyfriend risked his life to save hers and now Daniel was doing the same. Ash was right: their only hope was Daniel now and there's nothing she can do to help. She had to place her faith and life in his hands because if he couldn't do this: no one can.

She watched with hope which slowly diminished, watching her hero get pummeled left and right by the five enforcers. With each hit, the teen coughed out blood and his eyes were rolled back all the way. His clothes began to rip with each hit and bruises began to cover his body. She could only pray that Daniel could make it out of this and save the day but that reality seemed to be unlikely at this point.

Daniel was thrown away by a hit, his vision became blurry and he could barely breathe at this point. They wouldn't stop though, it was as if he was a piece of dough and each of the Enforcers were bakers battering him down to mold him into something else. He couldn't even fight back, he no longer possessed the strength to do so. Daniel used whatever energy he had to regret and think to himself, "_Samuel was right, I am a dumbass, I should've gotten help… Now I'm dying all alone with no one here to be at my side._" He was being beaten more and more, and he can confirm his bones deteriorate with each hit. He stopped thinking about his current state and thought about everyone he cared about. "_Serena.. I failed you…!_" He began to cry and be swallow in regret. He began to regret and resent everything he had done. His life began to flash before his eyes as he saw everything he had done and he felt empty inside. He wasn't satisfied and his heart ached realizing how pointless his life would be if he died like this, if everything ended right now. But he didn't have the strength to stop it. He cried out in his mind, "_Samuel… I know you're right and I know I told you to stay away. But I beg you, anyone, to save me… please!"_

His cries were unanswered and he only continued to become a physical and emotional mess as his tears flowed and his face was bashed in with each hit. "_Samuel?!_" He was hit in the face, "_Deoxys?!"_ He was knocked aside, "_Andres?!_" He was slammed into the air, "_Typhlosion?!" _He was knocked back down, "_Anyone?!"_ He was tossed aside once more. Time seemed to slow down for him as he felt his life drain and the cold embrace of death come so close it was almost warm. He was several feet from the ground, taking his last hit, the hit that would ultimately kill him. But this was it, he was going to die a painful death and accomplished nothing. His uselessness and pointless struggle made him wince and shed the last of his tears as he cried once more, "_Someone… help me…"_

The Enforcers reached out towards him, wanting to deal the final blow, Daniel prepared himself to die. However, in that moment, the Enforcers were knocked back instantly as the teen fell into someone's arms. Daniel felt the warmth of somebody pressed against him as he was cradled within their arms. He took comfort in it but the shock of the situation and the fact he was saved forced his eyes open. He finally caught his breath and he breathed in and slowly lifted his head up to discover his savior. As he took in the detail, his eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat as it was none other than…

"_B-BISHARP?!"_ The teen called out in his mind, unable to physically talk. The Enforcers got up and noticed the second Representative holding onto Daniel, his eyes cast in darkness as a dark shadow obscured them. At that moment, a bright red dot began to glow within the darkness of his eyes and made the Enforcers shiver with fear. The Representative was beyond furious at the sight of his nearly dead brother.

One of the Enforcers shouted, "Who the hell are you?!" But Bisharp paid them no attention as he knelt down and gently placed his precious brother on the floor to allow him to relax. The speedster zoomed towards the Enforcer and screamed, "ANSWER ME YOU BASTARD!" He demanded, Bisharp turned around and using his newly acquired power, stopped time for everyone there or so they thought. Bisharp rammed his fist right through the speedster without a second thought and once he was done, he undid the time-stop. The Enforcers saw their comrade charge in and get blown back with a hole in his torso in less than a second. They gasped at the sight of their comrade defeated and Bisharp stood in place, staring them down.

Bisharp told his brother, "You can rest now, brother. I'll be doing the fighting now... I'll continue in your place." The Representative turned towards them all as his eyes began to glow a bright red, and the bright blue aura of the Arceus Stone erupted from his body as he prepared to fight.

End of Chapter

Chapter 12 preview:

"Join me! Or you will be destroyed."

"Out of all the chimeras, I'm the strongest."

"You bastard! Lay your hands off of her!"

"Here, I'll give her back to you."


	12. Chapter 12, Reflection Caves Part 3

The air was cold and all were silent. Bisharp stood his ground observing the enemies before him as some cowered in fear. The enforcers gawked at the sight of their teammate knocked out with one hit. Bisharp turned his attention away from his opponents to look after his sibling who was gravely injured by these creatures. The Representative knelt down and placed his hand upon his brother and closed his eyes, concentrating. Daniel was engulfed in a green aura as some of the teen's cut wounds and other injuries began to heal. In a matter of seconds, Daniel's eyes shot open and he gasped for air, coughing as if he nearly drowned. Bisharp had transferred some of his own life energy to rejuvenate Daniel as best he could. The young man looked up to his brother in awe and took in the fact that they were finally reunited, though in a dire situation.

Bisharp put out a helping hand towards his brother and stated, "I'm going to be hitting the enemy head-on. What will you do?"

Daniel furrowed his brows and answered, "I'm going to save Serena, no matter what." he took his brothers hand and clasped it as he was lifted off the ground. They both turned towards the Team TECH compound and saw the army of Chimeras approaching them. In unison, green electricity shot out from their bodies and they prepared to fight.

"You ready?"

"Yeah." The teen charged towards the enemy with his brother following behind. One of the Enforcers punched Daniel but their attack was blocked and countered. The Representative switched targets quickly, landing powerful hits upon each of them and pushing them back as best as he could. He looked ahead to find several dozen Chimeras leaping towards him. Daniel assumed a fighting stance in preparation for the swarm but was surprised to see an energy beam enter his view. Towering above them all in the air was Bisharp who unleashed two separate beams of energy from each hand as he spread them out, anhiliting the bunch that had leapt. Daniel took the chance to advance forward while there was an opening and his brother hovered behind as their green electricity flowed.

Enemies approached from left and right, repeatedly attempting to stop the Representatives but they were no match. Each Chimera was knocked aside as the siblings drove a path through the army. Sitting atop a roof nearby, Engano observed the two Representatives with interest, taking particular note of Bisharp and his strength in comparison to that of Daniel's. Engano thought to himself, "_So that's him: the Superior Representative. I can see why Giratina told me to be wary of him. But to think he would barge in like this is unexpected. I pray the plan doesn't get altered from here._"

Daniel somersaulted into a group of Chimeras and slammed his palms upon the floor, instantly freezing the surrounding floor and Chimeras as they were stuck in place. Daniel propelled himself forward and re-entered his sprint as his brother cleaned up ahead. With a large amount of chimeras separating the two of them, the brothers faced each other and unleashed a massive stream of scorching flame and incinerating all those that stood between them. The siblings joined together once more and began to take out the targets that surrounded them in a circle now. With each chimera jumping at them, they were swatted aside like flies as the Representatives danced around the circle warding them off.

Daniel noticed how close to the tower they were and his heart dropped slightly at the sheer size of it up close. Bisharp exclaimed, "Go get Serena, I'll hold them back!" Daniel faced his brother with a worried expression and quired:

"What about you?"

"Trust me, I can handle myself! Now go save her before it's too late!" The teen nodded in agreement and hopped onto the wall of the tower before anything could grab onto him. Using his powers, he begins to sprint up the wall as fast as he could, groups of Chimeras taking to the skies in pursuit of the representative. Turrets emerged from within the tower and revealed themselves as the teen approached their range.

"_I will save her, no matter what!_"

Machine Gun turrets shot out repeatedly, the fire rate so fast it was almost a laser beam of bullets. Abusing the power of the Stone, the teen began to teleport repeatedly as to avoid taking any hit and progressively advanced forward. A flying Chimera approached him several meters away, Daniel used the opportunity to leap towards the creature and hurl them into one of the turrets, destroying it. Several others followed behind and the machine guns began to trace the teen's position. The Representative hopped from one Chimera to the next, striking each of them with a mighty blow as he passed each of them. The turrets finally caught up, the teen unthinkingly used Psychic to use one of the Chimeras as a shield to take some hits before forcing the body into another turret.

The bullets began to phase through him as he used his preferred countermeasure to bullets as they went right through him. He teleported above the the focus position and focused his energy into one blast and tossed it at the center of all the turrets. Generating a massive explosion obliterating the deadly machines that threatened him. The explosion could be seen by everyone within the headquarters. However, the explosion unexpectedly blew the teen back in the air, launching him further back than he would have liked. The teen ventured into his thoughts for a brief moment as he imagined Serena right now and how terrified she must be. The visual of her with his alternate self angered him, his anger gave him focus. He stabilized himself mid-air, gritting his teeth as he could see the floor in which his counterpart resided.

Daniel began to fly forward but was intercepted by more flying Chimeras including one of the Enforcers. The teen didn't have time for any of them, striking each of them and attempting to brush past them all. He collided with the Enforcer who obstructed his path, the teen grew frustrated and mustered up the strength to send the Enforcer backwards. Summoning upon the power of the Arceus Stone, his power grew and he began to zoom through the air towards the tower with the Enforcer now as his battering ram.

The other Daniel, Serena, and one other stood within the CEO's large room as they watched the action via camera placed around the vicinity. Before anyone could comment, The Representative crashed through the windows of the room and rammed the Enforcer into the floor. Everyone in the room drew their attention to the source of the noise as Daniel knelt on the Enforcer and lifted his head towards his counterpart, giving him a fueled glare. The teen got up from the body and turned his head towards the girl who was still forced to kneel. Everyone in the room was shocked by the eavesdrop but the other Daniel welcomed it.

"So you're the hero, eh? How unsavory, leaving a mess out of my base." The CEO mocked, talking as if he was distracted with more pressing matters. Daniel retorted:

"And you're the scumbag of a human being I've heard all about."

"Watch your tongue when talking to a man of authority such as myself."

"By that logic, I outrank you tenfold." The Representative struck a nerve with the remark, his other simply closing his eyes out of irritation.

"Oh tell me, what do you plan on doing right now? Because I will warn you right now: you're not going to survive."

"Maybe, but if it means I can get Serena out of here alive, it's fine by me."

"You know, I thought I would try to have a little bit of fun with you but now you're boring." The CEO turned towards his personal bodyguard who had his foot placed on Serena. The man was tall and wore a sophisticated suit. Surprisingly, he appeared to be more of a traditional bodyguard than the rest of the enforcers. However, the man possessed short, shaved hair and his face was covered in scars. Upon a close look, the man's pupils were white and daunting. The bodyguard got off Serena and beginning to approach the teen and only responding:

"With pleasure." The guard responded with a sheepish smile. Daniel took a step back and brought his guard up. He questioned: "So, are you the 'Big Boss' the Enforcers were talking about or are you just some guy?"

The guard answered, "I got a lot of names, bud, Big Boss is one of them. My personal favorite is: Your Worst Nightmare."

"Oooh, scary. Alright then, what do you bring to the table?"

"Kid, I don't think you quite understand what you're dealing with right now."

"I think I got an idea, but unfortunately for you, I'm not gonna give you a chance!" Daniel zoomed forward with the intention of ending the fight quickly. What was stunning was the man's reaction time, his arm mutated and grew and in less than a second, he backhanded Daniel into the wall with ease.

Blood seeped through the teen's mouth as he groaned and emerged from the debris. The Big Boss began to transform quickly and take shape into a monster. Daniel could see why he's called the Big Boss. Now standing as a ten foot high behemoth was the Big Boss who became overly muscular, and his skin changing to a brownish-purple color. His veins were noticeable and were of a red color, various spikes and horns jutted from his body. He was infused with so many that it was almost impossible to tell in the first place.

"You see, out of all the Chimeras, I'm the strongest. Unlike the rest of them, I survived multiple tests and kept on feeding me more and more Pokemon, and making me stronger! I possess the most variety and strength amongst all Chimeras so you better watch yourself kid! I'm going to curb your overconfidence!" Daniel wiped the blood off his mouth with his arm and challenged:

"Bring it on."

Bisharp had entered the building and finished clearing a room full of targets. The Pokemon looked around and wondered where to go next. His thoughts were interrupted by an incoming target from behind. Bisharp whipped around to face it but was surprised. The Chimera had a hand sticking through its chest, the hand was wrapped in a purple aura and the corpse was tossed aside to reveal Engano shaking his hand in an attempt to wipe off the blood. Bisharp didn't even need to ask questions as he immediately recognized the hair and eyes of the man before him. "That was unnecessary." he commented, looking at the corpse beside him.

"Oh yes, when I punch a hole, it's a sin. When you punch a hole, it's all fine and dandy. Funny little hypocrites."

Bisharp had no excuses for that as it was him letting loose just slightly. He decided to change the subject accepting defeat with that argument, "So if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here? This should be Representative business for us."

"Believe it or not, these fuckers have been causing me some grief for a while actually. I figured I'd pay them back, my way."

"What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to retrieve my kidnapped men first before anything else."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Don't get in my way or you might find yourself at the receiving end of my rampage."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." The two Representatives turn away from each other as they head off in their own separate directions.

A bit of time had passed and Engano was tearing through the compound, mercilessly killing one guard after another to reach the prison. Once he had arrived, he found himself within a humongous open room lined with jail cells and creatures inside. He looked around and knew this was an opportune moment to take advantage of. After careful planning and setting up he had deactivated the lights in the entire sector and opened up all the jail cells. Every Chimera and prisoner exited their cells confused about the ruckus. Engano's voice echoed across the room as he grabbed their attention:

"Hear me prisoners! I am Engano, I have set you all free but not without a cost. If you join me, I will grant you power and freedom beyond your wildest dreams!"

A prisoner barked, "Who the hell do you think you are? Our loyalties lay with Master Barsony!"

"Really? You remain loyal to a man who throws you into these prison cells?"

"These aren't prison cells dumbass!"

"Oh? So are you telling me you are willingly allowing yourself to be captivated against your will?"

There was no response and Engano knew he was getting somewhere with this.

"Then I rest my case. Join me! Or you will be destroyed, I do not have time to manage people who refuse to follow me."

"We'd rather die than serve you!"

"So be it." Engano was clinging to the ceiling, overlooking the entire room and watching each prisoner with intent. His dark aura erupted from his body and lit up the room as all the prisoners looked upon it. Engano merely smiled "Prepare to die.".

The Enforcer crashed into the floor, slamming both his hands down upon it to strike Daniel. The teen maneuvered out of the way and performed back-handsprings to gain some distance. As the teen slid back, he fired a projectile at the man who crushed it within his large palm. The Representative was taken aback by the action and prepared something more powerful. He charged up a Hyper Beam between his palms and unleashed it the moment the Big Boss zoomed towards him. Daniel fired a large white beam of energy as his Hyper Beam impacted his target. However, the Big Boss's head emerged from the the beam and instantly punched the teen into the floor.

The Enforcer grabbed the teen by his leg and spun around several times before chucking the boy into the wall, maximizing the damage done. Daniel ripped himself out of the wall with his face covered in blood, but he had no time to process anything as he had to quickly barrel out of the way of an incoming punch that shattered the wall. The teen attempted to keep his distance, repeatedly hopping away and firing as many projectiles as possible but it had as much effect as a water balloon. The Big Boss spun around, arking his arm along with him and generating an energy slice that approached Daniel in the air. Daniel teleported behind the slice just as it passed him and it created an explosion knocking the teen towards the Big Boss. The man leapt towards Daniel and slammed his entire arm into the teen's stomach, reminiscent of what the Enforcers did earlier. The hit made the teen spit out blood as the impact caused his whole body to spin repeatedly before his body slapped against the floor.

The man jumped into the air once more, spinning repeatedly like a drill and descended upon Daniel. The teen faced the Chimera and shot an Ice Beam to freeze the man in place. As the man was encapsulated by the ice, flames erupted from his body and melted the ice with ease. The young man rolled forward as the other man landed, placing himself behind. The teen performed his iconic spin kick to damage his target but it felt like he was kicking a metal wall and he dealt no damage.

The Big Boss turned around and chuckled, "Come on, kid, you're going to have to try a lot harder than that if you're going to hurt me." The Boss used Psychic on Daniel, pulling the teen towards him and placing a powerful uppercut on the boy's jaw, launching him into the ceiling. He hopped into the air to reach his target and grabbed ahold of his legs as he fell down. And with one final motion slammed the boy as hard as he can into the floor, creating a crater where he hit. Daniel's face was wide with shock, his body covered in his own blood and bruises on top of it. Yes, Bisharp healed him but not at full capacity.

The Big Boss was disappointed, the fight was over and he hasn't even broken a sweat. He turned around and began to walk away. However, the fight wasn't over yet, not for Daniel anyways. The teen's hand emerged and he slowly picked himself up, through immense struggle he managed. He remarked, "You know what confuses me?" The Big boss turns around raises his eyebrows in admiration as his opponent was still standing surprisingly. "It's that you have all this power yet you take orders from the likes of him. What's up with that?"

The other Daniel and the Guard faced each other for a minute before turning their attention back to the Representative. The guard said, "Kid, unlike those other psychopath's out there, I'm not in it for the sex and the money. I'm in it because my loyalties are with Master Barsony."

"But why though?"

"Master Barsony is my savior, I was a weak and homeless man once. But one day, Master Barsony pulled me out of my miserable life and gave me power, gave me a purpose. I swore from then on I would serve only Master Barsony because he has saved me from Hell."

"Do you even know the shit he does?!"

"Of course I do, but I don't care about any of that because he is my master. I have a deep respect for those with power, because they're the ones most capable of creating change. All the weaklings just suffer and die like I used to. And because of Master Barsony, I have been reborn into a new man with a new purpose. So if you think you can dissuade me from my master, you're sorely mistaken little brat! As far as I can tell, you're nothing but a weakling with no power! That's barely respectable at all, you can talk big but if you can't actually back it up, you ain't shit!"

Daniel looked towards Serena who's expression was at the brink of breaking down. In his best attempt to assure her, he gave her a confident smile and lifted his head up. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. He re-ignited his aura and his green electricity and assumed a fighting stance. "Well… I suppose I'll have to prove you wrong."

Down below, far removed from Daniel or Bisharp was the prison block Engano was in. The Representative decapitated an approaching Cchimera before spinning around and kicking away another. He backflipped and struck another with a powerful kick as he flipped. In rapid succession, Engano repeatedly hit each Prisoner and Chimera that challenged him in the center of the arena. A large Chimera leapt towards Engano. Wanting to make a display of it all, Engano struck the creature's torso with his elbow with so much force its torso bursted and it was sent flying back. Engano generated two blades with his own energy and began to slice and dice through everything. Severing limbs and other body parts as he continued to slaughter all that oppose him. The man was unrelenting as he murdered the Cchimeras with a straight face.

He launched one of them into the wall and forged a spear that pierced its skull and proceeded to form two daggers. He continued with his senseless murder and cutting and ripping apart more bodies that approached him, he took a nearby head and launched it at a prisoner like a baseball, knocking them over. Several projectiles approached him and made full contact. He was obscured in smoke and the surrounding prisoners took the chance to back away and gain distance from him. The smoke cleared revealing a barely injured man, only covered in the blood of his prey. "My turn." he coldy threatened as he spread his arms out and shouted. He dragged in all nearby combatants and in one fell swoop, penetrated them all with a spike and killed them.

Engano hopped into the air, spinning mid-air and throwing out random projectiles to kill any target they hit. The Representative was upon a high elevation from them all. He stared them down with a menacing glare and asked, "Anyone else?" A group charged at him. The man sighed as he raised his hand and several projectiles shot out from his palm and honed in on their position, piercing them all without a second thought. There was nothing left and they were all dead, "_Unfortunate._" he thought. A room full of dead corpses and blood, talk about a missed opportunity.

The teen staggered back with one hit, he was panting for breath as he was just being knocked around at this point by the Big Boss who was walking towards him. The Enforcer had a visibly bored and disappointed expression plastered on his face. The Representative was punched further back but he refused to fall. The Enforcer got angry and shouted, "Come on kid, excite me!" He grabbed him by the head and began to drag him through the wall roughly. Daniel cried in pain from being dragged through. In a burst, Daniel tapped into 50% briefly and broke free from the man, performing yet another spin kick directly towards the head. The attack left a bruise and blood spilled down from the man's lip. Unfortunately, the blue lightning of 50% faded just as fast as it had arrived. The man cheered excitedly, "There we go, first blood! Show me more of that strength!"

The Big Boss threw a punch at Daniel who reactivated 50% briefly and avoided the hit, landing another powerful strike which made the man cough out slightly. "There we go, that's more like it!" He back-handed the teen away, the force of the hit broke his guard and launched him backwards. He was lucky enough to be still standing after a hit like that. However, the man's strength was wearing down on him and he was in no physical condition to maintain 50% for an extended duration of time. His only hope was to time his hits at this point because he stands no chance with 25%. The Enforcer zoomed towards Daniel who reacted quickly by powering up and threw his own punch at the Enforcer. Their hits collided and were of equal power, the force of the hit blowing the two of them back several feet. The constant exerting of his body started to make his ears ring loudly and he was slowly losing his balance. Regardless, he had to keep fighting for Serena. He trudged forward and leapt at the Enforcer who wished to taunt Daniel and performed his own quick spin-kick, catapulting the teen into the wall with enough force that it felt like he got kicked by a metal anvil. Serena cried out for him but was met with disappointment.

The Representative rolled out of the wall and fell face first into the floor. He attempted to push himself up but his arms were wobbly, he could barely muster any more strength at this point. "Come on, kid, we were just starting to have fun! Don't pass out on me just yet!" He walked over and grabbed him by the legs. Like before, he began to spin around in circles but this time, he did it for a longer period of time. He kept on spinning so much it threw off the teen's senses, he had no control over himself and after a minute of building up momentum, the teen was hurled into a wall like a bullet. The teen's body was lodged into the wall and after a bit, his body rolled off once more and bounced off the floor just slightly as it lay there, lifeless. His eyes barely open now as he watched the Enforcer turn away once more and walk towards the other two. All he could do was stare and let his mind wander.

"_I can't do it, Bisharp! It's too hard!" Daniel complained, the teen was panting on the floor with his brother standing in front of him. They were training on the island with several months left. _

"_Then try again, we're going to keep doing this all day until you get it." Bisharp stated, arms crossed as he observed his sibling. The teen got up and continued his complaints._

"_I've BEEN trying all day and I still can't do it, it's impossible for me."_

"_It's only impossible because you've deemed it so. Listen here, Daniel, the biggest obstacle you'll ever face in life is yourself. You know this from experience so it applies to this as well. Learn to look past the barrier you set yourself and push yourself beyond what you know. The only thing holding you back is yourself, don't ever forget that. Remember, you are Daniel motherfucking Barsony, you got this and you are my brother. If I can do it, so can you. Now try again!"_

Daniel's eyes shot open completely as he fully woke up after remembering his training. He cursed to himself as he willed himself to move. With sheer effort, he managed to bring his arm up to his head and it required even more push himself up. As he exerted himself, he groaned loudly and forced himself on his feet. He grabbed everyone's attention once more as they were all impressed by his tenacity. Daniel thought to himself, "_You always had the answer, Bisharp. Whenever I had a problem, you had the answer to it. You're right, It's difficult for me to use more power because I've limited myself to that mentally. I need to break past my limit and get stronger!_"

"Daniel!" Serena called out, she was crying at this point as the stress from worrying if her hero was alive or not began to wear down on her.

"_Don't worry, Serena, that's why I'm here, to make things better."_

The Big Boss mocked, "Oh, You're still up? What are you going to do this time? You're nothing but a weakling!"

Daniel simply glared at the Enforcer, his arms drooped low from his exhaustion. Regardless, he forced his arms up which made his body burn with pain, he took a deep breath to calm down as he prepared himself. The blue aura of the Arceus Stone ignited from his body and in that moment, he began to shout as the blue lightning of 50% flared intensely. His aura spiked upwards as his limbs trembled immensely from, he continued nonetheless. Powering up and breaking past his limit. The ground underneath him began to shatter as it rumbled beneath everyone. The power of the aura caused debris to be blown away with an intense breeze and his muscles bulking up.

Images of Professor Roloane, Melissa, and his master flashed in his mind as he remembered his failures to save them all. He remembered his Serena and her horrified expression from what Calem had done to her at the Pokemon League, the trauma he induced her, he would never forgive it. "_Never again!_" And with one more powerful roar, his blue lightning was replaced with a powerful yellow lightning that surrounded him. The teen,now hunched backwards,stated to himself. "_This is the maximum amount my body can handle, ARCEUS STONE 70%!" _Daniel leaned forward and entered a fighting stance, his pupils glowing a bright red. His bright blue aura spiked upwards uncontrollably and his power was surging like never before.

The Big Boss exclaimed, "Oooh! I like the look of this, show me what you got, kid!"

The Representative stood his ground, observing his opponent intently for the moment he made a move. He was being taunted right now as the man left himself wide open. He was being baited, yes, but it was time to find out the capacity of Daniel's new strength. The teen altered his fighting position and electricity snaked around his body.

Daniel was right under the man and performed a rapid spin kick with enough force to launch the behemoth into the ceiling. The teen followed after him and with a mighty punch, broke through the ceiling and blasting the man out of the tower. He teleported once more above the man as he ascended in the air and mercilessly bringing down his leg upon him. The teen slammed his leg into the ascending beast, getting a direct hit on his skull as his eyes rolled back and and he spat out blood. The force of the kick shot the man back onto the roof of the tower, causing it to cave in and collapse beneath the pressure.

Daniel was gasping for air, this was taking a heavy toll on him and he needed to finish this quickly. The teen raced to meet the Enforcer and deliver a deadly barrage of consecutive punches, each denting and breaking the man as he became a bloody mess. Each punch had enough force to make the floor crack and break as they kept descending floors with Daniel's volley.

He was nearing his absolute limit and needed to finish it NOW. He jumped into the air and used his power to take to the sky. He continued ascending as high as he could within his limited time remaining and charged up a power-up punch coating his arm in orange. Once he felt he was high enough, he allowed himself to drop and gain momentum using gravity. He increased his falling speed and brought his fist back with the intention of finishing this with one blow. He can't down upon the Big Boss like a lightning bolt, striking him with so much for several floors of the building collapsed and were destroyed as the teen forced the man down. With that punch alone, he managed to blow a gaping hole in the man's body and rendered him unconscious.

Coincidentally enough, Daniel found himself on the same floor with Serena and his counterpart. Serena's expression was that of utter disbelief at what she just witnessed, taking note of the hole in the man's body and the teen standing triumphantly over him with menacing yellow electricity radiating off his body. Daniel looked at the injured enforcer and began to worry if he had killed him or not. His question was answered when the body twitched slightly and the flesh of the open wound began to swell and heal. He had regenerative powers, this is an issue. Daniel looked towards the other two with his counterpart not panicking and simply sitting still in his chair, observing the events unfold.

He turned towards the healing Enforcer once more and questioned himself, "_I have to finish this once and for all. To end everyone's suffering…" _he pointed his open hand towards the man and began to build up an energy blast in his palms. "_If I don't do this, this won't stop. I have to do it, I have to kill him!"_

His heart beat pulsed loudly and sounded in his ears, and it felt like it stopped for a brief moment. He felt as though he was being ripped away from himself and his knees became weak as he collapsed onto them. The Arceus Stone dropped to the floor and the teen's aura and energy dissipated. The young man looked at the stone in disbelief but he understood what happened, "_The Arceus Stone rejected me. I crossed the line and now I can't use the Stone anymore."_

In front of him, the Enforcer finished rejuvenating and stood on his feet, towering above the kneeled teenager. The Big Boss complimented, "I'll give it to ya, kid. That was pretty good, you almost got me. But, it wasn't quite good enough. Daniel pushed himself up on his feet as well but he was slouched over, deprived of energy and only his willpower fueling him. "I'll admit it, you got balls, kid. I don't know how, but you keep getting up every time you fall down and that's pretty impressive."

"_It doesn't matter, saving Serena is my priority right now and I'll risk my life no matter what to save her!" _Daniel managed to speak up and raise his voice for all to hear, "The reason I keep getting up is because of my love for Serena back home. And the Serena here reminds me a lot of my own, it kind of draws me towards her because of her similar personality and history. Serena has done so much for me I can't possibly pay back the debt which is why I keep on fighting! You might think it's trivial but to me, she means everything. So no matter what, as long as I live, I will continue to fight on her behalf!"

Serena began to shed tears as she heard this, she wasn't the one he loved but she could feel it from the amount of emotion he radiated. He truly loved Serena from every ounce of his existence. Her heart raced as she wanted him to survive more than anything now, she desperately wanted him to get his happy ending and be with the Serena he's in love with. But instead, he's destroying himself over her just because she's similar, how can anyone even work like that?

Daniel yelled as his muscles screamed and he attempted to tackle the man but to no avail. The Big Boss had lost his will to continue the fight and felt pity for the Representative. The Enforcer shoves the teen away gently but it was more than enough to topple him over with what little strength he had left. As expected, the teen got up, trembling like a baby first learning to stand. "I won't.. give up on Serena…" he muttered, trudging towards the Enforcer and threw several very weak punches. It felt like gentle taps to the Enforcer who groaned to himself on how pathetic this was to view.

_"I don't know where I would be without her, but she was the first person to reach out to me in my time of darkness and pull me up. Her name is Serena Ferris, the girl I love, and the one I am eternally grateful towards. It's because of her and all my friends that I'm here today and I can't afford to let their efforts go to waste." -Daniel Barsony _

Daniel was knocked back once more and got back up slowly. Unfortunately, he had expended every ounce of energy he had left, only having enough to stand still with his head and arms hanging low. His eyes were obscured in darkness and his strength dissipated.

The enforcer turned to his master, awaiting his command. "Finish him." The big boss prepares to follow through with the command until Serena screamed:

"STOP!"

The enforcer and the other Daniel focused their attention on the girl who was sobbing. "No more, you can have me! Just please let him live, I beg you!" She hasn't seen anyone this attached to her since her last boyfriend, the resemblance hurt her and she very much felt the same way about Daniel, the resemblance was uncanny and she wanted him to live.

Daniel lifted his eyes upon hearing this and his expression widened CEO grinned and pulled her close to him by her hair and taunted, "Now that's a good little girl… So, how about we start with your clothes?"

A stampede of footsteps sounded in everyone's ears and they saw the teenager storm towards the CEO and grab him by the collar and in one movement, head butted the CEO in the face with all his might. The counterpart's nose broke as a result and blood shot out his nostril, while Daniel winced in pain from forcing himself to move even though he couldn't.

"YOU DAMN BRAT!" The CEO back-handed the young man away with a powerful strike knocking him over. In a fit of rage, he pulled out his handgun and fired two shots into Daniel. The boy cried out for a brief second before becoming lifeless and silent. "Serves him right. Piece of shit, how can anyone do such a mindless thing? Throw this trash out, I don't want him in my sight."

The Big Boss disappointedly picked up the teen and carried him to the opposite end of the room and gently placed him down. He muttered to Daniel, "you fought well, it's a shame we were on opposite sides…" The Big Boss got up to reunite with his master.

"Now, let's have some fun."

He began to regain consciousness, his hearing was muffled but he heard something in the background. He winced and attempted to focus on the sound. It was the sound of a girl crying and moaning in the background. He identified her voice, Serena's voice, and his eyes shot open. He moved his head and saw something out of his peripheral view but he couldn't get a good view. He attempted to sit up but his entire stomach ached and emitted a sharp pain that went through his body. It was unlike anything he's ever felt, letting out a slight yelp when he felt it.

He attempted to piece together what happened and looked to find his torso drenched in blood and the floor around him covered in his own blood as well. But what worried him the most was the sounds. It continued on for a minute before the teen was fed up with it and he hurled himself forward and sat up.

That was the absolute worst decision he's ever made.

He screamed in pain upon doing so, his stomach couldn't handle the pain and he vomited along with blood drooling out of his wounds. He held himself up with his hands which quivered from weakness. He willed up the strength to lift his head and look at the source of the noise and his eyes widened. On top of the worst decision he's ever made, was made worse with the worst thing he's ever seen.

"YOU BASTARD, LAY YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" The yell came from out of nowhere for Daniel, it was subconscious and he didn't realize it but he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Everyone turned towards Daniel, surprised to see the teen alive. The other Daniel turned towards the Big Boss and stated, "I thought I told you to dispose of him."

The Enforcer replied, "apologies, master, it won't happen again."

"It's whatever. So, you're still alive? Not for long with those gunshot wounds of yours, you'll end up bleeding out. Now wouldn't that be amusing to watch."

Serena's face was completely red from embarrassment from being exploited and harassed. The mere sight and resemblance of what had happened and the fact it's an alternate version of him of all people infuriated Daniel Like never before.

"You know, you got this far just for a girl only to die a slow painful death as you fail to save her and watch her suffer. Must be tragic. But, you know, you've been a real thorn in my side this entire time. You've done quite a lot of damage to my corporation. It's commendable, honestly, no one else has done nowhere near as much damage, especially in a day! Honestly, I feel bad about your predicament. I think you deserve a reward, what do you think?" He turns to his guard who doesn't respond. The CEO gives the teen a devilish smile and forces Serena in front of him for the teen to see and all of her humiliation. "You want her back, right?"

Daniel growled, staying put to build up whatever strength he can to lash out.

"You know what? Here, I'll give her back to you." The counterpart tossed Serena towards Daniel who reached out to catch her. A gunshot sounded and blood shot out of Serena's forehead and the girl collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll. The teen's heart stopped entirely and his face went pale from shock. Time paced at slow motion for him as he watched her corpse hit the hard floor and her expression remained the same. Blood oozing out of her head from the wound and Daniel's heart ached more than ever.

Daniel was in complete shock and just stared at Serena's corpse in front of him, his pupils the size of pebbles. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't catch his breath to calm down. He began to zone out, detaching from the present world as his vision became blurry. He refused to believe any of it. A voice began to talk to him:

The world is a cruel place, isn't it? All life does is take from you constantly, life took away your childhood…

The outskirts of Daniel's vision was filled with red static as the sound blared in his ear, driving him insane.

Life took away your happiness…

Daniel's vision became further obscured by red static and his focus was still on that of Serena's. The nearby Arceus stone began to lose it's natural color, changing to a black and white color now.

Life took away your father…

All Daniel saw at this point was static, he couldn't see anymore. His black hair began to lose its color, becoming devoid of life as it became a familiar pale white.

And now it has taken Serena

Daniel lifted his head up, his eyes changing to black with white pupils and blood streamed down from his eyes to replace his tears.

A powerful blast of air struck against the CEO and his guard, blowing them back as the teen was now inside of a corrupt purple dome of energy. Serena was consumed by it as well. Daniel thought you himself:

"_Hate… Hate… I hate everything…!"_

Serena's corpse was cradled within Daniel's arms as he held her body close. Tears streaming down his cheeks as he held her cold body. He couldn't take it anymore, all sense of restraint and self-control was lost as he began to unleash a powerful cry. His dark aura exploded from with, generating a force so powerful every possible window in the entire base shattered and the floor rumbled chaotically. Daniel cried for his failure and loss of the one he loved.

Rise… my Second and greatest Representative…

Ending of chapter

Ending song for chapter: Pino to Ameri by Ishizaki Huwei

Chapter 13/Reflection Caves Finale Preview:

"Amazing, so this is the power I can possess."

"Daniel, what happened to you?"

"Arceus, I beg you! Give me the power to save my brother!"

Next time on Nothing to Arceus, Aftermath. Bisharp vs Daniel, climactic battle between brothers!


	13. Chapter 13, Reflection Caves Finale

_**Fun Fact: Typhlosion is actually a Team TECH experiment. Many years prior to the modern day events of Nothing to Arceus, Team TECH ran several tests with Typhlosion being one of the subjects. They wanted to see how Pokemon would react by absorbing radiation to the sun and investigate any potential mutations that would follow suit. Typhlosion was the only one to survive, becoming mutated from the sun's radiation and as a result, has his infamously deadly blue flames.**_

The threatening sound of Daniel's dark aura was chilling, the Enforcer and the CEO stood in place at utter shock of what they just saw. The teen was slouched over, having placed the girl's corpse on the floor. The Representative was enveloped within a sphere of energy that obscured him from his enemies. He began to stand up but his head hung low and his aura formed around him, lightly obscuring him within his own energy but becoming more visible to the other two. The teen glared at the two of them with his black eyes and his blood-stained tears dried up on his bruised cheeks.

All Daniel saw was two enemies in front of him surrounded in red static, he couldn't process the environment, he didn't know where he was, all he knew or saw was the person he wanted to kill.

The counterpart stuttered and ordered for his subordinate to eliminate the teen. Without hesitation, the large enforce dashed towards the teen and threw a mighty punch as he zoomed past the teen and assumed a stance but something didn't feel right.

Daniel barely processed what just happened but within his left hand was the arm of his enemy, blood gushing out of the torn out socket as his finger acted like claws, digging into the skin of the piece of meat he held and latching to it. He was amazed and surprised at what just happened, he didn't process how he did it but the deed was done. It was so easy he found it amusing, barely managing to let out a chuckle which developed into a light maniacal laugh.

The Big Boss cried out in pain as he covered the socket of his left arm with his other hand. The creature was on his knees as the pain was excruciating. He slowly turned towards the teen who didn't budge from his position. He watched as his left arm was tossed aside like a piece of trash and the teen's fingers covered in his blood. He growled, throwing away all restraint and lashed out towards the teen. Daniel turned his head around just slightly to catch the approaching target out of his peripheral vision.

Daniel rapidly spun, his hand coated in dark energy as he effortlessly sliced through the man diagonally, leaving his expression filled with pain and despair as the Enforcer's upper torso began to slide off and the body collapsed to the floor. Daniel's eyes widened and his mouth agape before forming a sheepish smile.

The CEO watched in horror as his number one guard was hacked into oblivion by a maniac. The teen bursted into uncontrollable laughter as he mocked the weak prey he took out. He needed to run for his life, he had to get out of here before he got killed too. The counterpart made a break for the staircase, sprinting as fast he could.

Daniel heard the footsteps and ceased his laughing as he noticed the other leaving. He muttered, "Oh no you don't." He reached out towards the man and held him using his new-found powers, held the man using a psychic-like energy. Daniel brought the CEO close to him and with a firm grip, grasped the man's face. The sheer look of terror and fear in the man's eyes was enough to ignite a smile on the teen's face. But that wasn't enough, he wanted more.

The CEO grabbed the teen's arm and tugged at it, attempting to tear himself away but to no avail, Daniel was too strong.

"You always like to watch your own works and see others suffer because of it, as a result: I don't think you'll be needing these."

He nearly wet himself as the teen's other hand emerged and formed a claw shape as it moved towards his eyes. He begged, "Please, no…!"

The CEO screamed in pain as his sight was removed, it was so much he wished to cry, but he had lost the ability to do so as well. Daniel took his bloodied free hand and used it to get a firm grasp on the man's shoulder and with his other, began to force the man's head to tilt backwards until it reached its limit.

The counterpart's neck felt like it was burning from how much it was being stretched, his spine began to feel like it compressed on itself and his breathing was being cut off. Daniel dragged it out as long as he wanted until finally, he slipped. In one sudden movement, a series of bone-breaking cracks and tearing flesh sounded. And in that moment, the Representative pushed forward with his arm one last time and removed the CEO's head from his body, allowing the ball of skin and hair to roll on the floor and create a mess as the body fell backwards with it.

Daniel stood in complete silence now, as his arms dropped to his sides and he simply stared at his own work, coming to terms with what he's just done.

It was in the middle of the night in Kalos, Serena was laying in the bed of a room she rented out inside of a Pokemon Center. She remained tucked under her blanket as she clutched her second pillow tightly, bringing it as close to her as possible. She longed for Daniel's warm and comforting embrace, the only thing she could use to cope with that is her pillow. Remembering the teen and how she's treated him as of recent made her cry. She dug her face into the pillow and let herself go, staining the pillow with her tears.

She missed him, more than anything else, she regretted leaving him behind and rejecting him. There was so much she wanted to say to him, so much she wanted to do with him yet she does this to herself. However, despite her pain, she could only imagine what he's going through at the moment. She could only wish he can get over it better than she can, but she knew that wasn't a reality. She held the pillow close, imagining herself in the teen's embrace and thinking to herself at that moment. "_I wonder what Daniel's doing right now and how he feels… I hope he isn't feeling too down right now."_

Daniel stood over Serena's corpse, looking upon her with his grief-stricken expression. His heart ached the more he looked at her and he began to cry once more, fully absorbing the fact that she's dead.

No matter how much you try, she's not coming back. The world is a cruel place, ruthless and unforgiving. But you know that, don't you?

The teen fell to his knees and fell over, catching himself by his hands as the reality of what he's just done and the consequences of it all began to dawn upon him.

The only thing left for you to do is destroy everything. Destroy everything that can hurt you and end your suffering. Give into me, and you will become more powerful than anything that has ever existed.

The teen complied, sitting up straight and allowed his eyes to roll back, leaving only the blackness of his eyes to be visible with his white pupils removed. His aura began to spiral upwards and create a sphere of energy above him. It grew larger by the second and began to rise upwards towards the ceiling as its mass expanded. With each passing second, a memory of Serena flashed in his head, a memory of a cherished moment of all his loved ones began to appear in his mind. However, they were being erased, each picture of his slideshow of memories began to shatter and burn as the only thing left for him to see is the red static of his unfathomable anger.

Down below, Bisharp was outside warding off hordes of chimeras until he noticed a light coming from above. Everyone there stopped to gaze at the light as they observed a humongous ball of energy rise from the peak of the tower, phasing into the clouds above. Bisharp was shocked to see this and questioned what was happening to Daniel up there and what he was fighting but those were questions he didn't have the answer to.

Emerging from the clouds now was a meteor shower of dark energy rapidly descending upon the land. Bisharp took to the air as he prepared for evasive action. The dark energy hailed upon the land, each pebble of energy generating a powerful explosion disintegrating the buildings they touched, melting the living creatures it impacted. Everything melted as if touched by acid as everything was being destroyed. The forests outside of the headquarters began to burn and turn over, the foundation of the base became unstable and cave in as the skyscraper of a tower began to tumble over. Surrounding Bisharp was several hundred incinerated corpses radiating steam with a foul odor of burnt flesh and metal. Bisharp rose higher into the air as he watched the skyscraper crash to the ground, completely decimated upon impact as it shook the ground with tremendous force.

Bisharp looked upon the flaming horror which was the headquarters, no creature lived and no buildings stood, everything that could be considered alive had been disintegrated into dust as the melted remains of all those that lived piled together. Smoke rose up from the air of it all, the majority rising up from the burning forests of Kalos, Bisharp felt the same way he did when the poachers attacked the island a year ago but this was worse, this was a massacre. But his deepest concern at the moment was for the safety of his brother who was in the tower when it collapsed to the ground. The brother inhaled as much as he could and screamed out for his brother's name, "DANIEL!"

He was greeted to a chilling silence as the wind swept by and the raging fires burned. Bisharp didn't know how to proceed until he heard something nearby. He heard several rocks tumble from the rubble of the collapsed skyscraper. Bisharp inspected the area from a distance and was hopeful that his dear brother survived the collapse. An arm shot out of the rubble and placed its hand on the top of the mess. Another emerged and did the same thing. Then, a person broke free from the rubble, growling like an untamed beast as they steadied themselves. Bisharp recognized the white hair as Enganos and grew disappointed with the reveal.

The man however stood in place leaning forward, raising his head to look at Bisharp. The aura of the Representative began to swell upwards and fixed his posture as he faced the sky, unleashing a powerful roar which disrupted the still air in the area. The aura exploded from his body, now a reddish-orange color on the inside while dark on the outside. He fell on all fours and growled loudly as his teeth sharpened into fangs, his fingers digging into the ground, and he unleashed a cry as several black tendrils with red tips jutted out from his back, reminiscent of Giratina's tendrils. As a result, his shirt was destroyed, and the spiked tendrils swayed in a majestic motion repeatedly. His eyes glowing and golden horns taking shape around his torso.

The man looked like a feral beast now on all fours, Bisharp was curious as to what was happening with him and soon realized it was not Engano. Upon closer inspection, he discovered his brother's signature scar on his left cheek and his very first one marked on his side. Bisharp's heart dropped realizing what's happening to his brother.

Daniel looked upon Bisharp once more, he was blinded by fury and unable to see the carnage and destruction he's caused. He saw a figure floating in the air and he attempted to focus on it and identify the creature. However, just as he focused and began to see a more clear view of who the person was, his vision revealed Engano watching above him. This infuriated the teen even more, the man he hated the most besides Calem stood above him as if he's a lowly creature. He wanted to end Engano's life now, no restraints or hesitation for the act.

Bisharp twitched once he saw his brother assume a stance and prepare. The Representative prepared himself for whatever came next. There were several seconds of silence as Daniel remained in place, scowling at Bisharp as if he was Engano. Daniel leapt towards Bisharp at rapid speeds, too fast for the Pokemon to comprehend as he was man-handled into the ground and dragged through it. The teen mercilessly forced his brothers head through the ground and planted his feet firmly, stopping the forwards charge. With the built up momentum, he slammed Bisharp on the floor with incredible power. The Pokemon tumbled forward upon hitting the floor, rolling like a bowling ball with no ability to control or stop his movement.

Daniel jumped into the air, twirling quickly, using more momentum to slam his fist upon Bisharp and forcing the creature into the ground. He abruptly grabbed his brother by the legs and spun rapidly in place before launching the Representative away like a bullet. The Destroyer zoomed forward at incredible speeds past his sibling. Once he was far enough, he turned the other way to intercept his flying target and threw a punch which Bisharp crashed into.

The hit took the air out of the Pokemon and the pain was immeasurable as his body fell upon the floor like a ragdoll. Daniel walked up to his brother and aimed one of the tendrils at Bisharp and forced it down in an attempt to pierce him. The Pokemon barely evaded by rolling out of the way, the teen followed up with another pincer but his brother continued to evade the attacks. Bisharp pushed himself off and slid on one hand to perform a roundhouse kick which was effortlessly blocked by one of the tendrils. The black tendril wrapped around Bisharp's leg and slammed him into the floor several times before throwing him away.

As the Representative of Creation skidded across the floor, his opposite chased after him with astonishing tenacity. Bisharp regained control of himself and hopped into the air to avoid an incoming attack. He brought his fists together and slammed downwards as he descended, striking against the tendrils which cushioned the impact for its creator. Daniel placed his hand upon his brother and focused his energy into his hand, unleashing a dangerous beam of destruction blasting against Bisharp. The Representative was blown away and crashed into the remains of a broken down building.

The Pokemon emerged from the rubble, sitting on his knee as he panted, body steaming from the blast and covered in bruises from all the hits. He couldn't believe the amount of power Daniel possessed at the moment, and although he was concerned about why his own brother was attacking him or how he even became this way, one thing was clear: he was dead-set on murder. The only way he would survive this is to stop holding back and go all out against his very own brother. It may hurt him but this was the only way he could think of.

The teen let out a powerful shout as his aura began to flow behind him. Bisharp observed as the aura began to manifest into a shape and take form. Bisharp couldn't allow this and tapped into the power of the Arceus Stone, choosing to power up before Daniel did. His aura began to spike upwards as the ground shook slightly and after a brief moment, Bisharp shot his arms outwards and the red lightning of 100% exploded from within and encased his body. The Representative assumed a stance and muttered, "Let's go."

Bisharp launched towards his brother, moving so fast his aura lagged behind and he was a blur of energy. As he approached, Daniel's aura had begun to manifest into a silhouette of Giratina with its eyes glowing red. At that moment, the construct unleashed a magenta bolt of lightning which struck Bisharp instantly and created a large explosion. Fortunately, Bisharp wasn't out for the count and continued his forward assault as he zoomed towards the teen and threw a punch which was blocked by the tendrils as expected. However, the guarding tendrils were pushed back as they struggled to maintain the hold, the Representative of Creation yelling as his red lightning became more sporadic and he forced himself through the barrier.

Telling himself he wasn't fighting his brother, Bisharp landed a mighty blow at his brothers gut, making him cough out just slightly before following up with another to the face. The secondary hit sent the teen backwards several feet yet but the pokemon continued his pursuit. The tendrils all focused on one point as they attempted to hit Bisharp but he teleported past his opponent and kicked at his target.

The tendrils snapped backwards to block the kick, surprising Daniel as he looked behind him in shock but growled at the sight. The pincers unwinded themselves abruptly, knocking the Pokemon back as the teen turned around to face him. The tips of the pincers took on a different shape and Daniel opened up his hands and built up a ball of energy in each hand. Shooting everything forward, the Destroyer began to fire a rapid volley of energy blasts directed towards Bisharp. The Pokemon began to hop backwards evasively, avoiding each lethal blast that incinerated whatever it touched. Daniel took to the air and began to fire down upon Bisharp from the sky.

Bisharp decided to change tactics and charge the teen head-on, utilizing Daniel's phasing trick to go through the barrage of energy. Once he was close, he grabbed ahold of Daniel by the shoulder and hurled him towards the floor to bring him down. Just as the teen was about to make impact, the tendrils acted once more in defense and cushioned the teen's fall and brought him to his feet.

Bisharp was breathing heavily, he's never sustained 100% for an extended duration of time and it was taxing on the person who used it. He couldn't figure out how long he could maintain it but he needed to drag it out as much as possible if it meant ending this fight. Daniel was much more powerful than Bisharp though, the Giratina Stone was naturally more powerful than that of the Arceus Stone but the price came at the user's mind. The Stone feeds off of their mental capacity, slowly but surely widdling it down and the less they thought and the more mindless they became, the more powerful they were in the end.

Because of this, Bisharp was on the brute end of Daniel's onslaught and cracks had already begun to form on his blades and bruises covering his body while Daniel had only taken some light damage from his two punches prior.

Daniel growled like an animal once more and his energy built up as he unleashed another powerful cry, but this time, it sounded like Giratina's own cry blended with his own. His energy seeped into the ground, covering it in a black essence as the very foundation beneath his feet began to crumble and collapse. Large fissures appeared and emerging from them was light spurts of lava which filled the bottom of these ravines. Instantaneously, the teen's tendrils stretched out to Bisharp and grabbed ahold of him, bringing him closer. Daniel brought his hands back, coating them with dark energy and once his target was in range, he brought his open hands forward. Smashing them into his brother, the blades on his torso shattered and the Pokemon's eyes widened with pain as he was blown away.

Bisharp fell into one of the ravines but caught himself by the edge, holding on with one arm. The Pokemon pulled himself out of the hole, sitting on one knee as he began to feel worn out from all this fighting.

Daniel saw Engano emerge from the ravine and grew frustrated at his resistance to die. He barked at Engano with a volume that hurt his throat, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Bisharp heard the death threat and felt hurt hearing those words from his brother directed at him. He realized this definitely wasn't Daniel, he was being manipulated like a puppet and needed to be stopped for his own good. Bisharp stood up and reignited the Arceus Stone, contemplating how he should go about this and only managed to say:

"And I'm going to save you."

Bisharp walked towards his brother for a little bit before entering a full sprint and creating a ball of energy in his right hand. He leapt into the air as his brother did the same, zooming towards Bisharp and jumping up to meet him. No words were exchanged as their attacks collided and created another large explosion covering the entire area. Everything was covered in smoke and from the outside, nothing was happening but a lot was happening inside the cloud.

Bisharp and his brother engaged in fierce close quarters combat as each punch and block they performed rattled their bodies. The Pokemon grabbed Daniel by his shoulder and dragged him down as he forced his knee to meet Daniel's chin and knock him back. He followed up with a backflip to gain some distance and fire an focused blast which was slapped aside. The teen countered with his own, firing his own energy blast which cut through the smoke and separated it. Bisharp ducked out of the way of it as it whizzed by, seizing his opportunity to come in close and kick at his brother.

Daniel raised his arm in anticipation of the incoming kick but he was psyched out as Bisharp threw a punch instead making direct contact with his face. The punch was powerful enough to send the teen flying into the ground and burying himself in it. The smoke cleared and the Representative of Destruction laid in the ground, growling angrily. He forced himself up as his eyes began to glow red and he let out a powerful roar, sending his aura skyrocketing into the sky.

Daniel appeared above Bisharp, throwing a punch with enough force it created a focused air blast which struck the ground and created a crater. Daniel attempted to pummel Bisharp's face several times but the Pokemon reacted quickly and acted accordingly. The teen went berserk, coating himself within his aura and unleashing a projectile in every direction like a maniac. Bisharp protected himself as best he could as the projectiles flew everywhere, devastating the landscape even more. The enraged burst of energy lasted for half a minute before calming down.

The teen was revealed to be gasping for breath, his face cooked with his own sweat and visibly exhausted from that outburst. Engano was nowhere in sight for Daniel and he dropped his guard as a result. Bisharp shot up from the ground, getting an uppercut on the teen and followed up with several consecutive punches. Daniel's tendrils kicked back into action, grabbing Bisharp and they both descended rapidly as the secondary arms slammed the Pokemon into the floor as hard as they could. Bisharp recovered quickly, flipping away and charging towards his opponent once more only to be blocked by the arms.

The Representative relentlessly punched away at the tendrils, pushing them back slightly with each punch. Once Daniel's defense was broken, his energy swelled up and exploded from within Daniel, destroying the ground and knocking Bisharp back. The two began to descend down a ravine now with scorching hot lava awaiting at the bottom. The fighters slid on the walls of the ravine at a quick pace, leaving behind a trail of dust as they descended. During this, the two brothers leapt towards one another repeatedly, exchanging blows back and forth as they repeatedly ricocheted off of the walls and bounced back towards one another.

The lava was close now and Bisharp wasn't sure if his brother was conscious enough to notice. In a desperate attempt to save his sibling, he teleported underneath him and uppercutted him out of the ravine successfully. Bisharp zoomed above the teen and attempted to slam his hands down upon him but was countered by a tremendous backhand, blowing him away into the ground. Bisharp used the momentum to keep going backwards, doing a back-handspring to regain control and continue moving backwards to avoid the Destroyer who crashed into the ground. Daniel smashed his fists into the ground where Bisharp was, each powerful enough to create a large crater that decimated the ground. Bisharp began to build up his energy into a powerful attack, deciding it was necessary if he was going to survive.

Daniel dug into the ground and drilled through at a rapid pace, Bisharp continued to evade as projectiles beamed out of the ground in an attempt to hit the Pokemon. Bisharp miscalculated and took a direct hit from one of the beams, and the moment he was stopped in his tracks, Daniel appeared right in front of him. Daniel punched Bisharp in the stomach so hard it sent a shockwave through the pokemon. Following this was an uppercut knocking the Representative of Creation high into the air. This was the chance Bisharp needed to unleash his attack and shooting his limbs outwards, he released his energy and declared his attack.

BLOOD MOON SLASH!

An army of Blood Moon projectiles exploded from the Pokemon's body, homing in on the teen as he moved out of the way. Daniel moved quickly, avoiding the rapid volley of projectiles as they whizzed by and missed him. However, he wasn't quick enough, taking a direct hit from one the slashes which exploded upon impact followed up with a second one striking him down to the didn't take long for the teen to emerge with the smoke trailing him and covered in his own blood.

Daniel took to the sky, continuing to avoid the projectiles left and right and rapidly approaching his target. With the remaining slashes homing in on Daniel, he utilized this opportunity to have them hit Bisharp. However, he wasn't a fool and knew the Pokemon could dodge so he managed to impossible. Utilizing his tendrils, he juked Bisharp out by grabbing ahold of the projectiles and manifesting them into one point. And all in one swift motion, he created a focused ball of energy similar to Variant two and smashed the Blood Moon energy into Bisharp.

Getting hit with his own Blood Moon Slash, Bisharp was blown away several hundred feet in the air and came to a halt as his entire body was cracked and bruised from the one impact. The two Representatives landed on the floor, both gasping for air in unison as they attempted to collect themselves. The colors of reality slowly changed in their presence, yet they didn't notice because of the adrenaline caused by this fight.

Daniel entered a full brown sprint, shooting out energy blasts from his palms as he ran. Bisharp charged at his brother, bobbing and weaving around each blast as they closed the distance between them.

"_You're right, we've made it this far. It's way too late to turn back now, but we're in this together till the very end." _-Daniel Barsony

Daniel used his tendrils to dig into the ground and uplift from whatever foundation that was left and launched a massive chunk of rock towards Bisharp. The Pokemon sped up and slid directly underneath the rock as it passed by him overhead. He was quick to get back on his feet and leap towards his own brother, throwing a punch.

"_From this moment, Bisharp and I no longer fight as trainer and Pokemon, but instead, as brothers!" _-Daniel Barsony

Bisharp followed through with the punch, using Daniel's brief flinch to grab ahold of him and flip the teen over and hurl him into the ground before kicking him away. Bisharp unleashed a Hyper Beam towards his sibling who had managed to stop himself and unleashed a powerful roar which dismantled the Beam as it approached and caused his aura to flare.

"_Then what's your motivation? What's keeping you going?" _-Daniel Barsony

"_Mine…? It's mostly you, I think about protecting you and everything I care about, and I willingly want to do this because I care. Don't let the Stone guide you, you guide the Stone, let it be an extension of you, not the other way around." _-Bisharp

Bisharp accelerated towards his brother who threw a punch at his brother. Bisharp phased right through, confusing the teen and shortly after, another Bisharp appeared in front of Daniel and socked him across the face with enough force to make him spit out blood. The Destroyer"s feet were firmly placed on the floor as he slid back several feet, maintaining his ground. Daniel growled angrily once more, his tendrils becoming more sporadic with their movements and his aura growing out of control.

Bisharp let out a sigh that conveyed many emotions but most dominantly, grief. He advanced on his brother's position and jumped up into the air, calling upon the mighty power of the Stone and he erupted into flames as he merged Volt Tackle with Flame Charge to create Flaming Volt Tackle. He zoomed forward, ricocheting off of the blocking tendrils which got blown back upon impact. The Pokemon followed through, bouncing back and impacting his brother repeatedly with each charge. The Representative soon broke through his brother's defenses and began to unleash an onslaught of rapid strikes as he zoomed back and forth, too fast for the teen to process.

The enraged beast caught Bisharp and threw him onto the floor. The Pokemon recovered quickly and engaged in some incredibly fast paced combat but he was overwhelmed by his brother's raw strength and blown back. It was so powerful, Bisharp almost lost consciousness from the blows he took and as he was knocked back, all he could think about was his will to help his brother. He didn't want anything else right now and he cried out, "_Arceus, I beg you! Give me the power to save my brother!_"

At that moment, his wish was granted as the red color of Bisharp's body turned into a very light grey, his aura reignited as a bright white and the golden wheel of Arceus hovered behind him. Bisharp jumped towards his brother, landing a punch which struck the tendrils. The punch shook the ground and created a powerful shockwave. The Destroyer's tendrils began to disintegrate with each hit, each powerful blow shaking the very earth they stood on as Bisharp overwhelmed his brother with his new strength. Splitting and breaking apart any energy blast that came his way, Bisharp was on the offensive.

They backed away before leaping towards each other again, zooming around the area they fought at speeds so fast they couldn't even be seen. The brief encounter ended as Bisharp grabbed his brother by the head and unleashed a fully powered beam of energy which severely damaged the teen and blew him back. Daniel was still standing luckily and Bisharp decided to finish this fight with one move. Building up all of his remaining power, he assumed a stance and waited for his brother to come in range. Once close, he shot his hands out and encased his sibling in his own energy, trapping him in place.

Daniel growled and screamed as Bisharp's energy bound him to the same spot, keeping him as immobile as a statue. The Pokemon's power faded and he fell to his one knee and looked his brother in the eyes. He could read all the pain and frustration Daniel is enduring just from his eyes alone. Bisharp attempted to reach out to his brother as that was all he could do now. "Daniel, everything's going to be fine now."

The teen flinched and stopped for a brief moment but slowly got angry again. "I understand you're hurting a lot right now, but you need to snap out of it, this isn't you. This isn't my brother." Daniel's static-filled vision began to clear up and the figure he saw as Engano began to dissipate and the real person that was in front of him began to reveal himself. "Everything's going to be all right now, I'm going to fix things. That's what brothers do, right? We have each other's backs." Daniel's vision cleared up, his white pupils returned and he saw his dear brother extremely injured and at the brink of death. It dawned upon the teen that the person he was attempting to murder this whole time, was his own brother.

Tears streamed down his face at this realization, his heart ached once more as he sobbed and his cheeks became puffy and red from how much he was crying, he began to chant "I'm so sorry" repeatedly in a hushed and quiet tone. The Pokemon willed himself up to his feet and went to embrace his brother who was incapable of doing the same. Bisharp rubbed his siblings back to reassure and comfort him, simply saying:

"It's going to be okay… I forgive you, you know I can never get mad at you, brother."

The chains that held the teen back were undone and he collapsed into his brother. Giratina's tendrils began to shrink away and disappear from the teen's body as his hair began to regain its life. Bisharp backed off, allowing his brother to lift his own weight as he fell on his knees. He struggled to get up but gained more strength the more the Giratina Stone disappeared from him, or so he thought.

The dark aura of the Giratina Stone splashed from his body so unexpectedly, he fell on all fours as corrupt electricity began to surround him. The Giratina Stone was pulling him back, it wanted more. His entire body began to burn up as if he was dumped into a flaming hot room. He sweat ferociously as he dug his fingers into the ground due to the excruciating pain. Bisharp called out to his sibling in worry, unsure of what to do. "I can't fight it!" Daniel cried out, his whole body lifting upwards instantly as the aura skyrocketed upwards. He screamed in terror as his eyes turned into a glowing red and his hair became the pale white it used to be.

Bisharp stated to his brother, "You have to fight it, resist the stone!". Daniels clutched his whole body as the tendrils began to erect from his back once more. In a minor lash, he brushed his hand outward, slashing the floor with his power as he held onto his head and told Bisharp.

"I-it's not the stone, it's-" He was cut off by his own cries as the power began to overwhelm him, he continuously slammed his head into the floor in a desperate attempt to ward off his possessor. The process continued for several seconds, the tendrils now acting as a shield for the teen as they defended him from harm. Bisharp couldn't get close now and all he could do is reach out to his brother.

"Daniel! You have to fight! You must!"

Visible strains formed on the teens forehead as the blood created from his repeated slamming drizzled down his face, avoiding his lips. He shouted through his pain, his body trembling as a result as he began to shake repeatedly, losing his balance. Bisharp cried out once more as loud as he can for his brother to hear:

"Fight it, dammit, you need to come back! Not just for me, but also for Serena who's desperately waiting for you to return! So whatever you do, don't give in because you're Daniel Barsony, my brother! And the strongest God damned kid I know." Daniel's memory kicked in once more and the fragments of his memories began to piece back together as he regained his motivation and the love he had for everyone he cared about. The dismissal of all these memories and the monster he's become now tore him to bits, his tears rolling down as he unleashed a powerful cry of rage, not from what happened but to himself who failed and the situation he's in.

Daniel used every ounce of willpower he had stored within him to tear the stone away from him, letting out once more scream, the Stone was removed from him but not without a cost. Once the Stone was removed, the aura exploded from his body once more but didn't encompass him this time, instead, it faded like an explosion. Picking up a cloud of smoke which blocked everyone's vision. Bisharp had his arms up in self-defense, taking the brunt of the aura burst and dropping his arms as a result to find his brother. Though he couldn't fully see him, he saw his body laying on the floor, motionless.

Bisharp crawled over to his brother's body, calling out to him repeatedly as he struggled with whatever stamina he had left which was little to begin with. Once he reached him, the teen was lying faced to the ground. The Pokemon rolled his brother over whose eyes were closed but everything else had miraculously returned to normal. His hair was finally the proper color and everything became peaceful as silence dawned upon them all once more.

Bisharp shook his brother repeatedly, hoping he would wake up. After a bit of shaking, he was met with some success as the teen groaned and furrowed his brows as he regained consciousness. He rubbed his eyes before opening them and was met at the sight of Bisharp. The teen screamed in fear as he pushed himself away from the pokemon and crawled backwards, trying to get away from Bisharp. "G-get away from me! Who are you?!" Daniel questioned, slowing down and keeping his fearful eyes upon the Pokemon.

Bisharp stood up, extremely confused by the situation, and began to walk up to Daniel reaching his hand out hoping it was some sort of prank. The teen scrambled backwards, keeping his distance from the pokemon, acting as if he was terrified for his life.

"Who are you?! Why are you coming after me?!" Bisharp stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened. Realizing that Daniel couldn't act or fake the fear in his eyes. This was genuine and the boy before him didn't hold a shred of the confidence or stability that his brother did. He pondered to himself:

"_Was his memory wiped? Is this a sick last resort put in by Giratina after it loses its own Representative? Or is this a result of the Stone eating away at his consciousness or perhaps both?" _Bisharp stopped to think about how he should handle this, hoping the memory wipe wasn't as extensive as he hoped. He got down to his knees and reached out towards his brother and said, "It's alright, you can trust me. I'm your brother."

However, he was met with worse results. The teen didn't even comprehend what Bisharp said to him and raised his brows in confusion. Bisharp cursed to himself and begged that there was a way to undo this. Before he was given a chance to think of an alternative, Engano appeared behind Daniel, wrapping his arm around the teen's neck and stating: "He's mine now." Before vanishing with his brother in hand. The Pokemon's expression was filled with shock as he had a delayed reaction, jumping out towards where Daniel was a second prior but was met with empty space. The Representative was tired out and had no energy left within him, only able to push himself off the ground and keep himself aloft using his arms, unable to activate the stone's power at the moment.

Bisharp cursed to himself as he growled, dropping his head a result and winced in disappointment towards himself. Clutching his fists so tightly his arms trembled, he was furious. He couldn't move, his stupid body wouldn't move or obey him at the moment. All he wanted to do was chase and knock out Engano before he stole his brother but it was too late. The man had bided his time, waiting for the perfect chance to strike and if he so desired, could have killed him right then and there. But Engano let him live so he can torment his own failure. Using his own rage and fighting his body, he raised his head towards the sky and let out the more powerful, throat wrenching, tear-filled, emotionally driven, and agony-induced roar he's ever let out in his whole life as his rage capped and he lost consciousness, collapsing on the floor as the cold wind blew against his body. The forests of Kalos continued to burn and whatever was left of the Team TECH compound was long gone. This wasn't a victory, in all, this was a crushing defeat for the representative.

1 Week later…

Samuel was outside with his Deoxys by his side, the two simply stood by the front of their house, hoping the teen would reveal himself and come home at last. However, it was too late in the day, the sun had begun to set and the day became darker by the second. Samuel closed his eyes in disappointment, turning away to return to their household and saying, "Let's call it a day, we'll find him tomorrow…" The Psychic type Pokemon did as told and began to make his way towards the door. However, he felt a familiar presence which made his eyes shoot up, he whipped around to see who it was. In the distance was a figure who limped towards the two of them, almost falling to the ground with each step as chunks of himself began to chip away.

It was Bisharp whose eyes were obscured in the shadows, his blades destroyed and all he had left to himself was the Arceus Stone in his hand and his willpower. Samuel noticed as well and the two partners rushed towards Bisharp to aid him. Deoxys managed to catch the Dark Steel Pokemon just as he fell over. Samuel asked the pokemon, "Bisharp, are you all right?" Bisharp didn't respond, he didn't feel the need to explain himself or what happened, all of it was a failure and he didn't deserve to speak until his brother was home. The two previous Champions lifted Bisharp back inside the house in a hurry, rushing to treat his injuries.

Inside of a dark room in an unknown part of the Kalos region, Daniel was kicked across the room, rolling around as his abuser ran after him and stomped his foot on the teen's head, catching him in place. Torturing the teen was Engano, who maintained a sadistic smile as he crushed the teen's head with his own foot before proceeding to kick and beat him more and more, leaving him covered in unrecovered bruises with his lip busted and a black eye from all of the hits.

The teen didn't understand why any of this was happening, he didn't understand what was going on. All he knew was that regardless of if he had his memories back or not, he was in Hell. He didn't have the strength to fight back and could only hold on to life as he was toyed around with by this man who kidnapped him. Even though he saw the Pokemon briefly, he knew he'd rather be in its presence than the tormenting Hell he was forced to endure at the moment. As he lay on the floor being beaten, he reached outwards with his hand, hoping someone would reach out and take it and save him from this, someone he knew, someone who cared about him.

Serena got up from her bed, her heart suddenly aching as she felt a desire for her friend's presence. She couldn't bare not seeing him anymore and wished more than anything she could. She walked over to her window and opened her curtains to allow the light from the night sky to enter and aluminate her room. She gazed upon the star, placing her hand on the window as if reaching out to the person she cared for the most. Hoping by some miracle, he would reach out just the same and they could remain connected in their shared grief. It was there that Serena realized she was done cowering away from her fears and needed to right her wrongs. She wanted to go back, she wanted to come back to the one she cared for the most: Daniel.

And so, as the Representatives of Creation enter what is possibly their darkest time, Engano claims his opportunity to gain an advantage in this war between Representatives. Serena must face her own feelings and admit the truth, while Bisharp wallows in his own guilt and rage, eagerly awaiting Engano's next appearance. The threat of the Reflection Caves have been ceased and all points are beginning to converge as everything now leads to Engano who stands as the last threat to the Barsony family and the rest of their lives.

And so, the story will be continued next time on Nothing to Arceus: Aftermath.

To be continued… Chapter 14, A brother's fury


	14. Chapter 14, A Brother's Fury

Somewhere hidden within the outskirts of Lumiose City, inside a decrepit and seemingly abandoned warehouse is where Engano resided for the time being. Little light intruded the facility, and the Representative of Destruction sat atop a personally-made throne. With one leg over the other and his head simply resting on his fist, he would appear bored, but quite the contrary, he was very amused at the moment. A subordinate of his, a young woman, marched up towards him as per his demand. The woman spoke up, "Yes, sir?"

Engano raised his voice, having not spoken for a period of time caused his voice to possess a slight rasp to it but his charisma remained. "They're coming, I can feel it… I want all of you to go to the emergency bunker." He ordered, "And don't forget to take HIM with you, they are coming for him after all." Engano looked out down towards the front of his throne, his foot firmly placed on a weakened and frail Daniel Barsony. A boy with no sense of who or what he was, trembling in front of the man before him. He did not speak, he did not make a sound, only his visible trembling did the talking for him. The floor was cold, filthy, and unforgiving. The teen shivered, his body couldn't handle the pain but he lost his ability to speak because he was too afraid to, he hadn't the slightest idea what to say anymore or how to communicate.

"At once, sir." the woman left Engano's view and faded into the darkness once more. He was left alone with his former enemy, now slave. He removed his foot and leaned forward to get a closer look at the teen. Engano forcefully grabbed the boy's face so they faced one another. The Representative mocked, "Look at you, such a frail and weak looking child. Hard to believe you're supposed to be my equal, Ha! Don't make me laugh." He received no response, the teen looked at the man with empty and nearly soulless eyes. "Lost your will to fight back? Or maybe he's dead? It doesn't make a difference to me." Daniel blinked as a response, showing whatever consciousness he had remaining.

"Oh how I could've killed you a hundred times over already, but I chose to do things the hard way and make you suffer. And yet, nothing I've done has come close to the pain and suffering you've caused me Daniel Barsony… YOU WORTHLESS BASTARD!" He chucked the teen aside with relative ease, the ladder collapsing across the floor like a lifeless ragdoll. "Pathetic, not even worth my time. Giratina better be right about this, and we can turn this shell of a being into a Destroyer once more."

Daniel turned his head to look at the man, deep down, despite the obvious reasons, he had a deep-rooted anger towards his abuser for reasons he couldn't pinpoint. Memories locked away and unable to be accessed, forced to live under the watchful eye of amnesia with no control over the events of his life.

Engano stopped observing the weakling and gazed off into the darkness, allowing his mind to wander and daydream as he awaited the incoming encounter. "And now we wait…"

It wasn't long before he was discovered, or rather, allowed himself to be discovered. A burst of light beamed into the room as the doors for the building were blown down. "This is the police!" Several officers stormed the building along with their respective partners. The Representative of Destruction did not budge, remaining in place with his muscles relaxed and awaiting to play a game of theatrics with his new prey.

The officers were treated to an ominous silence, they turned on their flashlights and whipped around repeatedly, weapons trained in front of them and ready for action. They conversed amongst themselves, debating whether everyone left already or they went to the wrong site. The opportunity was ripe for the taking, as Engano stepped out of his throne approaching the officers with deliberate yet loud footsteps. The hollowed building echoed the sound of his footsteps, announcing his presence to everyone there. Without hesitation, the officers simultaneously aimed their weapons towards the origin of the sound. Engano, who was obscured in complete darkness, continued forward.

"Stop right there! We have you surrounded!" An officer threatened, readjusting his handle on his pistol to have a more firm grip. The approaching destroyer didn't listen, as his figure became visible to the bunch. The team of law enforcers maneuvered around, getting a better angle of their incoming target. "I said stop right there or we will shoot!". The footsteps halted, the unwelcoming ambience of their environment sent shivers down their spine. Some bit their lip in response and others focused on the task at hand.

A neon purple ball of light illuminated from Engano's palm, revealing the man with his palm raised and a devilish smirk strewn across his face. The officers prepared to fire their guns but Engano was quicker, simply saying, "Too late." As he unleashed a massive ball of energy.

The front half of the building exploded, a powerful gust of wind shook the area as purple-tinted smoke was propelled into the air. Engano bathed in the radiance of the sun, it's warm rays paled in comparison to the scorching flames which now surrounded him. Also dead corpses, but those were the least of his concerns. Engano directed his attention back to the current threat, Police Officers were still alive despite the blast, and more were coming in. Engano muttered to himself, "I think it's time for this city to burn."

Engano prepared for another attack, raising his arm with full intent to strike down his foes. However, he was cut off by a near-instantaneous strike to the face from an unknown source. He only managed a glimpse of his attacker, Bisharp, before being launched into a building by the Pokemon's attack.

All the officers observed in awe at the scene they just witnessed, their attention focused on the Representative of Creation who was engulfed within his shining blue aura. They were in shock of who it was, recognizing the blue aura and the Pokemon, it had to be the new Unbeatable Champion who'd come to their aid. Speaking of champions, Samuel arrived at the scene completely awestruck by the destroyed building and the casualties that had already taken place before he had even arrived. Before he was allowed to ask any questions, Engano shot out of the building and rose into the sky to divert everyone's eyes.

The Destroyer had a trail of blood descending from his lip and was not visibly impressed by Bisharp's stunt. Furrowing his brows and brushing off the blood with his sleeve. Bisharp could feel Engano's presence like a hurricane in a calm sea, he didn't need his eyes to know where the destroyer was. The Pokemon took note of this fact, assessing the man physically and making a mental note to himself that the man was more durable than expected.

One of the officers spoke up, "Hey, if we have both of the Unbeatable Champions here, this is going to be easy!" They pumped their fist into the air as if declaring an early victory. Samuel wasn't sure what to say in that regard as he's had no experience with the man aside from his initial viewing of Engano on Daniel's return and the stories he's heard. Regardless, he was not to be taken lightly and responded, "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you."

"Samuel, get everyone the hell away from this place. It's way too dangerous for you all." Bisharp suggested, maintaining his ground and keeping his eyes locked on his target. Engano began to swoop down to meet the Pokemon head on, the ladder of which simply clenching their fists in anticipation.

"But-"

"Go!"

Bisharp hovered mere centimeters from the ground as he quickly dashed to the side to avoid Engano as he swoops past. The Destroyer whipped around, digging his feet into the ground to halt his momentum and prepared himself as Bisharp charged towards the man at full force. The Creator hurled his fist towards Engano who blocked elegantly and reeling his opponent in for a strike. Bisharp quickly leaned back to avoid an uppercut, seizing the opportunity to kick off of the man and break free from his grip. Bisharp pushed himself off the floor before he landed with his hand, handspring back to his feet as Engano shot his palm out to release an energy blast.

The blast caught the Pokemon off-guard and as a result, was knocked even further back and off-balance. Engano zoomed forward fist first as he attempted to make contact with the creator. Bisharp quickly gathered himself and pulled himself back, moving out of harm's way by a hair. The man was open, and taking a hold of his arm and using his momentum against him, threw him into the ground below as he ascended in the air. Wasting no time, Engano spun around, waving his arm in a large arcing motion as a trail of energy was released in that pattern. The Dark Steel Pokemon backflipped away from danger and landed on the floor, ready for more action as The Destroyer brought himself to his feet.

The officers' heads were baked in sweat as they agreed to evacuate and leave it to Bisharp for the time being to handle the crime lord while they try doing the rest of the job. Samuel joined them, looking back at Bisharp and furrowing his brows, getting a bad feeling about the situation. Not wanting to regret it later, he releases Deoxys from his capsule and describes to his partner the task at hand, "I want you to step in if Bisharp needs help. I'm confident in his abilities but if by some chance, Engano manages to get past him. I want you to be the next line of defense." Deoxys required no words, simply nodding in acknowledgment as he turned his back towards his partner who scurried off with the rest of the officers.

Deoxys stepped out to get a better view of the ensuing chaos, crossing his arms as he kept his eyes on Bisharp. Taking in the fact it has been quite some time since the two had properly interacted or remotely battled. Knowing this, they've both gotten stronger within this last year, and Deoxys intended to win their next bout. So he wanted to use this as an opportunity to gauge the Pokemon and his abilities. "Alright then, _Representative of Creation_, let's see how much you've improved."

Bisharp spun repeatedly as he ascended in the air, breaking his rotation to fire off separate projectiles towards Engano who jumped away from each attack. Once landing on the floor, he pushed himself off to propel himself towards his opponent. Bisharp caught the Destroyer causing the two to get tangled in the air as they struggled for control. Having the superior fighting reflex, the Pokemon shoved his knee into the man's stomach and used the ladder's staggered reaction as an opportunity to place his iconic spin-kick across Engano's face. Engano was knocked away in the air, a visible bruise where the attack landed.

The Destroyer stabilized himself in the air and charged up his energy into a massive beam that unleashed from his palms. Bisharp simply vanished from his spot and reappeared nearby as the beam zoomed past. Unfortunately, Bisharp wasn't the intended target of the attack as it made direct contact with Prism Tower, incinerating a hole straight through it as the nearby glass shattered from the shockwave created by it. Bisharp realized this far too late and growled as he whipped his head towards his enemy. However, Engano gave him no time for such theatrics and in that moment the Pokemon turned, he was struck towards the city by the man.

Wanting to keep the momentum going, Engano repeatedly closed in on Bisharp and landed several consecutive hits knocking the Creator further into the heart of the city until they were at the dead center near Prism Tower. Engano ascended even higher as he raised his arms above him, building up a massive sphere of destruction and proclaiming to Bisharp, "How about I just destroy this whole city, that sound good?"

Bisharp barked, "You bastard, you wouldn't!"

"Wanna bet?!" Engano tossed the sphere down towards the city, Bisharp went to intercept the sphere and stopped it in place by pushing against it. Bisharp mustered enough strength to merely hold it in place but it's energy was intense and it was a struggle to hold it.

Engano smiled, hovering away as he said his goodbyes to Bisharp, "Well, ima leave you with that. I'm gonna kill all those police officers before they cause me any more grief. Ta-da~!" As Engano began to pick up speed, he stopped dead in his tracks when Deoxys appeared in front of him, arms crossed with his usual cold glare. "Oh great, as if this couldn't be any more annoying."

Deoxys extended his arm out towards Engano as his eyes began to glow a light blue. Engano recognized the move and moved out of the way before scoffing, mocking the Pokemon, "Ha! You missed."

"I wasn't aiming for you, jackass." Deoxys snapped back. Engano looked behind him to see the energy ball being displaced. With the combined strength of Deoxys and Bisharp, they managed to launch the sphere directly into Engano.

"Oh what the-" The sphere made contact with the man, creating a humongous explosion with enough force to shatter every window nearby. Engano was blown far away from the city as the two Pokemon observed. Bisharp hovered next to Deoxys and thanked the psychic, "Thanks for the save."

"You can thank me by kicking his ass."

"That's the plan!" Bisharp reignited his aura as he sped away from Deoxys to continue the fight.

A horde of Engano's men were running through a tunnel, trying to get to safety. It was a dark and sloppily made passage that did the job. Daniel was limp and being dragged across the floor by the others who had little regard for his health. They saw a light up ahead and once they were through, they were in the middle of a forest. What they weren't expecting however, was for the police to have already found them. All of the grunts cursed to themselves as the Police raised their firearms and demanded all of them to raise their hands and turn themselves in.

It took slightly longer for all of the grunts to be dispatched and arrested and through the thick of it all, Samuel discovered his dear brother. He rushed over to his brother, pushing everyone aside as he knelt down and lifted his brother's body up. Now that it was daylight, the extent of Daniel's condition was clear. He was bloodied and bruised all over his body, his clothes were torn and battered. What was the most concerning of them all however, was a swollen up scar near his abdomen that looked as if it never properly healed and was infected. It didn't look like any ordinary injury he's seen before, almost like something went through him. His body was cold and pale, his eyes were lifeless and baggy.

Upon being lifted by his brother, Daniel's expression did not change, his head falling over slightly to look at the man who had picked him up. He didn't recognize the man, just like usual, as he had no recollection of anything or anyone. Samuel nearly burst into tears just looking at his brother's condition and muttered, "My god, Daniel, what did he do to you?!" Samuel waved towards the officers to get their attention and cried out for the ambulance to be called. Everyone heard a sound originate from nearby, they all turned to look as more and more were generated and two flying objects came into view from a distance. Samuel recognized Bisharp immediately, furrowing his brows and thinking to himself, "_You have to end this once and for all, Bisharp._"

Bisharp offerened to moment to rest for the Destroyer, landing consecutive hit after hit and pushing the man further away from the city. To end the combo, the Pokemon paused briefly to fall back and build his momentum as he spun with tremendous force and slammed his fist into the man's side. The impact caused the man to crash into the ground and cause it to collapse slightly as a massive cloud of dust rose into the air as a result. Bisharp lowered himself just slightly but remained in the air to keep an eye on the Destroyer.

Engano rose from the ground, not amused at all by the sudden turn of events with his clothes being tattered now and partially bruised. The man looked up towards Bisharp and stated, "Well, it looks like I made a grave mistake underestimating your abilities, Bisharp. I think I'm done holding back now. This little charade is over, so let's get this shitshow over with. Engano was suddenly wrapped within a magenta outline, his hair wavered and the pebbles on the floor hovered. In a brief moment, an aura boomed from within the man, covering him completely as the aura shared the same distinct color as the rest of his attacks. Possessing a fine gradient of magenta with the aura being at its darkest within and the brightest on the outline of the aura. It's beauty however, was short lived, as the ground underneath Engano began to incinerate quickly and a hold formed in the ground in the shape of the aura. From the hole, steam arose from the charred dirt.

"Let's begin." Engano gritted his teeth as the air was displaced by his aura, the ground under him caved under the pressure he emitted as he launched from the ground towards Bisharp at full strength. The Pokemon was surprised by the man's slight boost in speed and caught his punch with difficulty as it was strong enough to push him back several meters in the air. They came to a stop as the two of them held their arms out, pushing against each other with wavering arms. Steam began to rise from under Bisharp's hand, making Engano smirk. The Dark Steel Pokemon's expression widened in shock at the scorching pain coming from his hand. He quickly let go and was punished for it as the man landed a quick blow and pulled Bisharp in close to place a point-blank kick at the pokemon's torso. The kick had enough force to generate a displacement in the air and blow Bisharp away.

Engano closed in on the Pokemon, throwing punch after punch and only granting enough time for the Pokemon to block with his arms. Each punch was very painful, the incinerating feeling Bisharp felt in his body every time he made contact with the Destroyer was a tormentful pain that made the actual punch worse. The man pulled his arm back and shot it forward making contact with the Creator as he was blown back even more. Bisharp slowed to a halt as he uncovered himself, finally given time to analyze the extent of his damage.

There were visible dents on his arms and in his torso, pieces of his body scorched away with each striking blow. Bisharp couldn't understand how this was possible but it had to be the work of Engano's ability, the aura he was enveloped in. In a calming response to the intense pain he was currently feeling, he panted as a result. The focus required to ignore the near-constant burning pain in his arm and focus on using the power of the stone placed a mental strain on the Pokemon.

Bisharp had an idea to test the limits of Engano's ability to gain a better understanding of it. He vanished with the wind using the Stone's power, leaving Engano lonely in the air as he simply awaited his opportunity to strike. He was aware Bisharp was going to play some game with him and decided to play along, leaving himself seemingly defenseless in the air for a brief moment before sparking his aura outwards and striking Bisharp just as he appeared once more. The brief splash of the incineration aura staggered the Pokemon and caused him to wince in pain. Engano didn't need to look to know where his enemy was, spinning around and backhanding the Pokemon away like a pest.

Engano offered no rest for his opponent, coming in for another powerful strike as he smashed his fist into Bisharp's face with so much more, it destroyed a part of the Pokemon's mask and blew him towards the city once more. With no control over his flight, the Pokemon barreled through an apartment building in the city and planted himself into another. Nearby pedestrians and Pokemon screamed and fled from the scene as the Dark Steel Pokemon forced himself out of the wall, allowing chipped off bits of his face mask to excrete.

Engano hoved above the first building Bisharp crashed through, arms folded and a confident demeanor possessing him. Fortunately for the Pokemon, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve, and ignited his aura once more as he zoomed towards the opposing Representative. Right when he believed the Destroyer was going to expand his aura, he backed away just in time to avoid a hit. However, it was only once, as Bisharp continued advancing back and forth towards his opponent, not making any contact whatsoever. Engano maintained his composure, simply tracking the Pokemon's movement with his eyes as Bisharp continued to psyche him out by coming in and going back almost immediately in different reactions, almost to see if Engano would react in a certain way.

The Destroyer had enough of these mind-games and spiked his aura once Bisharp came in close, staggering him once more and grabbing the Pokemon by the face. The aura began to burn Bisharp's face and left an imprinted hand mark across the Pokemon's face as the man's grip tightened. In a desperate attempt to break free and risk the damage, Bisharp maneuvered his body to wrap his legs around the man's arm and break his grip. During the process, he spun on the man's arm and used the quick build-up of speed to smash his fist into the man's face and backed off as there were burn marks covering his entire body now.

The hit Engano received was minimal, the aura doing its work and disintegrating Bisharp bit by bit until there's nothing left. The Dark Steel Pokemon wished to continue his experimentation of the aura, backing away even further and charging up a fully powered beam of energy and releasing it through his palms, directing it towards his enemy. Engano knew exactly what game Bisharp was playing at now and hoped to crush his dreams. Charging towards the beam and being consumed by it as he disappeared into the blast. The Pokemon didn't know what he was expecting when he saw the Destroyer rise out of the blast a mere meter in front of Bisharp and socked across the face, ending the attack.

Engano sustained no damage whatsoever, the aura having disintegrated the energy of the attack as he moved through it. The Pokemon was running out of options, he was beginning to understand the depths of this dangerous aura but he couldn't fathom a counterattack against it, this is nothing like Deoxys' Protection Barrier. He would need time to plan a strategy against this but he didn't have that luxury at the moment given Engano's ruthless assault.

The Pokemon blinked and right after, he found Engano already driving his fist into the Creator's torso, slowly burning a hole through him as his eyes widened with pain. The Destroyer continued to push forward until he had forced Bisharp into Prism Tower. Inside, the man clasped his hands and slammed them down against Bisharp, catapulting him through several floors of the tall building as each story of the building collapsed under the force. Engano decided to get another good hit in, latching onto the ceiling and using it as a foundation to push himself off to gain some speed and shove his fist into Bisharp's torso in less than a second with added momentum.

The building shook from the power, Engano attempting to force his fist deeper but was being held back by Bisharp's arms who were clutching the man's arm. The Pokemon struggled to hold him back, scorching his own hands in the process as his hold became weaker and weaker, the physical strain of resisting the pain and stopping the man's fist became too much. He struggled to breath as his arms gave out after a brief moment as they dropped, the man ceased his attack to simply look down upon his opponent, so damaged and weakened by his unstoppable aura.

The man grabbed Bisharp by the leg and chucked him out of the building with all his might. As the Pokemon travelled across the air, Engano caught up to him and began to unleash a flurry of consecutive blows back and forth, switching from one position to the next to keep the Pokemon in place. Following this, Engano raised his leg and slammed it down atop the Pokemon's head, shattering his metal blades up top, and propelling him into the ground below. The carefully placed floor tiles were undone as the entire section of the floor upturned.

Engano descended upon Bisharp, once more slamming both his fists down and smashing them into Bisharp with enough force to shake the area and form a crater. The Pokemon coughed out and gasped for air as his head fell back. The Destroyer decided to deliver the coup de grace and extend his palm to face Bisharp and unleashed his power. Cooking Bisharp alive within a ball of energy as it shot upwards like a beacon, encasing the Pokemon within the burning energy before fading and revealing a charred Bisharp remaining motionless on the floor. All of his blades destroyed, his body covered in scorch marks and dents in several places and the Pokemons expression conveying constant excruciating pain.

Engano was satisfied with his work, he managed to defeat two of the Representatives without breaking a sweat, oh how he loved the Giratina Stone. Before he could sing his own praises, Bisharp reached out for Engano. His raised arm was quaking with weakness as it slowly reached out to his opponent. Bisharp lifted his head as if trying to get up but could not muster the strength. The Pokemon's glowing red eyes flickered constantly as he generated a slow and withheld groan of pain. Engano did not move, watching the pokemon with a disgusted look on his face as he watched the pitiful scene before him. Soon enough, Bisharp's glowing red eyes faded and his body turned pale and his eyes rolled back, leading to the Pokemon collapsing to the floor, lifeless and decayed. The Pokemon's head rolled over like that of a ragdoll's and whatever life Engano could read from the Pokemon dissipated from his sight.

The work was done, and the Representatives of Creation were no more. All he had this to say, "You know… it's really underwhelming how easily you and your brother fall before my might. It just goes to show that I am the strongest out of all Representatives, and you two on the other hand don't stand a chance. But don't worry, once all this has blown over and I retrieve Daniel, he'll soon be calling me Master Engano and I'll teach him to follow in my footsteps. That sounds like a fun time, as much as I would like to pay my respects, You most certainly don't deserve a proper burial, I still haven't forgiven what you did to me." His dangerous aura disappeared as he took a deep breath and finally admired the carnage he's done so far. Yet with so much more room to improve, he's been on a good winning streak as of recent.

However, the fight wasn't over yet as he had one more target coming in fast. He turned around to face his opponent who turned out to be Deoxys speeding towards him in his infamous Speed Form. Engano felt prepared to take on the legendary but wasn't prepared for his speed as he vanished and reappeared right behind the man, landing a strike which broke Engano's guard. Following with a slugged backhand across the man's face as he was launched towards a building. Attempting to avoid more property damage, Deoxys chased after him and stretched out both of his arms and wrapped them around the Destroyer's wrist. Now pulling him in, Deoxys changed his form into his defensive form which was his physically largest state and crashed right into Engano, feet first. The man spat out in agony and was dropped onto the floor like a piece of trash. Deoxys used psychic on the ground, attempting to crush the man by squishing him between two masses of concrete.

Engano shouted, destroying the walls with his power and rising up into the air to escape. He moved in to attack and unleashed a flurry of punches to hit Deoxys, not wanting to take any chances, the psychic chose to avoid each hit in his speed form. They both backed off at the same time and approached each other once more with Deoxys now in his offensive state. They began to exchange a series of attacks and engaged in intensive close quarter combat. They kept at their pace, no party faltering as they maintained their ground.

Deoxys stretched one of his arms and very quickly tangled it around the destroyer, pulling him in as he repeatedly punched and kicked the man in place before launching him away with one final hit. Engano stopped his backwards movement and complimented the legendary, "Impressive, you're more aggressive than I thought. But unfortunately for you, not aggressive enough." Engano dashed towards Deoxys, spinning repeatedly as he covered himself in the same aura while Deoxys prepared to defend himself and put up his protective barrier. Engano passed through Deoxys with his arms covered in his divine aura and mere seconds after he passed through, Deoxys' arms were sliced off and the unbreakable barrier shattered.

Deoxys slowly turned around to face the man, not saying a word as he was in complete disbelief of his defense being destroyed. Engano mocked, "So much for your _Unbreakable Shield_, guess that makes two of us that can break your shield now." Deoxys didn't say anything, quickly regenerating his arms back to normal which hurt him. "I've had enough of you knocking me around, time for you to meet the same fate as Bisharp."

Engano closed in quickly, encased in his aura. Deoxys switched to his defense form and moved out of the way, bringing up his arms to guard a series of punches. Deoxys pushed right through Engano's offense and flipped Engano over to throw him off-balance. Deoxys knew about the effects of the aura from having observed Bisharp's fight but wasn't quite prepared for the pain itself. Regardless, he followed through, flipping the man over by pushing up his jaw. Deoxys performed a spinning kick to knock the man away and send him back several meters with little damage inflicted unfortunately. Deoxys fired off a small projectile which was disintegrated by Engano's aura, as expected. The legendary did this to test out how it dissipated those types of attacks, it was indeed troublesome. One thing he knew Bisharp must've noticed is that compared to them, Engano is a chump of a warrior. Simply hiding behind a gimmick to cover up for his own weakness, if only he was able to find a way past that ridiculous aura, he would be able to win this battle with ease.

Engano came in close, taking a page from Bisharp's book, slightly, and constantly disappearing and reappearing around Deoxys. As he did this, he maximized the effective radius of the aura, passing by Deoxys each time and burning him from different sides. Engano concentrated the aura, swiping Deoxys across the face as he melted through a small part of Deoxys face like a hot knife through butter. Leaving a seamless mark stretching across the legendary's face, his expression matching his pain. The Destroyer brought his fist back and snapped it forward like a bullet as he struck Deoxys away.

The psychic stopped his descent and hovered away from the approaching target who began to shoot out several projectiles, each of which blasting away chunks of the area surrounding Prism Tower. Deoxys preferred this than having the blasts directed at the buildings directly to his right, so he was going to be cutting it close by closing off his movement range. He looked around and saw Bisharp's body still in place and knew he had to avoid collateral damage.

Engano decided to cut the bullshit, speeding up tremendously to catch up with Deoxys and slam him into the floor face first. As he sat atop the legendary pinning him down with his knees, he began to choke the legendary. Despite the practical ineffectiveness of the maneuver, the thought of melting off Deoxys' neck and having his head come off as a result was amusing enough for Engano to follow through with it. As Deoxys' neck began to incinerate, so was the rest of his body which Engano was pinning down.

The legendary was getting desperate, trying to come up with solutions to get out of his predicament,wincing through the pain. Deoxys transformed into his speed form which was slender in physique, the alteration of his body type caused Engano to shift and the psychic seized the opportunity to break free. Transforming into his attack form, he kicked his legs out like a horse kick of sorts,making him buckle as a result. One more kick was able to make the man stagger back a few steps. Deoxys crawled away from the man, seemingly too-weakened by the aura to get up anymore. As he crawled backwards trying to move away from Engano, the man simply began to approach Deoxys at a normal walking pace, a visibly bored expression on his face as he watched his prey crawl back.

Engano monologued, "First, Daniel, then Bisharp, and now you. Good God, you've made it so easy for me to kill you all, really. I legitimately expected a tougher fight out of all of you, but after this, I'm honestly feeling a bit empty inside. Your deaths weren't as satisfying as I thought they'd be. Well, that's probably because there's someone else I want dead more than you both combined but that's besides the point. So why don't you just sit still and let me end your life." The Destroyer was confused when Deoxys began to chuckle lightly, he stopped dead in his tracks and furrowed his brows out of confusion. "What the?" Deoxys burst out into uncontrollable laughter and fell over on his side, almost at the point of wheezing now. "Have you gone mad? Why are you laughing?!"

Deoxys raised his volume as he laughed even more loudly now, this nonsensical act irritated Engano, stomping his feet and shouting, "I demand you to tell me why you're laughing!" Deoxys coughed slightly before turning back around to face Engano and wipe a tear from his eye and simply replied, "Oh, don't mind me. I've just been stalling for time."

"What?!" As Engano registered the response, his eyes widened and his heart rate spiked up when he saw a shadow appear from his peripheral vision and felt a presence behind him. He whipped around preparing to strike whoever dared sneak up on him from behind. In that instant, his skull was bashed-in with one blow despite having his protective aura still up. His skull damaged and the impact reaching his brain, his senses were thrown for a loop as his vision became blurry and all sense of control dissipated as he collapsed to the floor. He was caught by the wrist, and his body was left hanging only by his wrist. He barely managed to move his eyes to glimpse at his attacker, leaving a physical strain on his eyes from the effort. His heart skipped a beat once he saw who it was.

It was Bisharp, standing tall with no signs of being physically drained, yet the Pokemon was covered in his same battle damage. His eyes were obscured by a shadow when he first looked but his glowing red eyes soon boomed with life and made eye contact with Engano. The man began to sweat as Bisharp was still holding onto his wrist, he was sure Bisharp should be melting because of his aura which was still up, so why wasn't he burning? The Pokemon squeezed Engano's wrist and exerted enough force to dislocate the Destroyer's wrist as his arm became slack and still held in place by the Representative. Engano explored the depths of his imagination and searched for any potential reasoning for what was happening right now, but to no avail, he begged, "H-how? Why aren't you-"

"Dead? It's simple, ever heard of acting? I guess I'm pretty good at it. But don't worry, once I'm through with you… you'll be looking the part." Bisharp replied in a cold and threatening tone. Engano began to tremble in fear, never has his barrier been overcome. And now that his ace is removed, he's left to deal with Bisharp's rage at full force. The Dark Steel Pokemon chucked Engano aside and used his new-found time-stop ability to freeze the man in place several meters away from him. Deoxys' eyes widened when he saw the man completely frozen in air, it was unlike anything he's ever seen before, Bisharp assumed a stance and muttered to himself, "Oh I'm going to enjoy this WAY too much…"

Bisharp leaped forward and mutilated the man's hand with one strike. Bisharp had a sense for how much damage he was about to inflict into his victim. So he stepped back and took a drawn out deep breath, taking the time to reflect on all the people that have suffered because of Engano, and the people that he is fighting for. Images of the frightened citizens passed through his mind, then Samuel, Deoxys, and eventually his dear brother, Daniel, who he could only imagine is suffering right now.

Using his raw emotion to fuel his rage, he focused all of his power into 100% as he unleashed a powerful roar and the red sporadic electricity of his power exploded from within. In that moment, he let himself go, and threw as many punches as he physically could in the shortest time possible. Each punch so powerful it sent a shockwave through the man's body. Each punch so powerful a bone broke every time he made contact. Each punch so powerful an organ ruptured upon impact. Bisharp was going to savor this moment and allowed himself to cut loose as he unleashed everything he had in him to give the man what he deserved, "HATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAATATATATATAAAAAAA!" Deoxys was surprised by Bisharp, he never knew the Pokemon to have a sadistic side to him, but given the circumstance, he understood. It didn't matter what happened to Engano next, because even if he survived this assault, his life was going to be a living hell.

Bisharp undid his time-stop so the man's perception of time may continue once more and allow the effects of his several hundred consecutive punches to take effect. Engano's body was littered with dents,his body contorted unnaturally and his eyes were wide with agony. Almost instantly, the man was blown away like a professional baseball player hitting a home run. The man left a flowing trail of blood through the air as he flew and crashed into the floor.

Bisharp walked up to Engano's dysfunctioning body, the man was convulsing in short bursts, struggling to breathe as his body parts twitched and attempted to move. The Pokemon mocked, "I would piss on you just to be spiteful, but that would be beneath me like you are right now." Engano didn't/couldn't respond, the man was struggling to live as it was and the sight amused Bisharp greatly. He didn't take himself to be sadistic but his actions right now are tame compared to what Engano's done. It was a sin he will live with and take with pride, knowing he's ended everyone suffering. "Tell Giratina to clean up his mess..." Bisharp spun around and walked away nonchalantly and finished his statement, "Cuz his little toy's broken now."

End of Chapter

Fun Fact: Bisharp's newfound time-stop ability isn't actually a time-stop due to the feat being impossible. In reality, it is an advanced form of Psychic that not only grabs the target, but also their mind as well. The technique messes with the target's brain into making their perception of time come to a halt and whatever action they are in the process of doing goes through an endless loop until the ability has stopped. In a lame man's terms, it is essentially a "Mind Fuck."

To be continued in Chapter 15, Memories


	15. I'm done with Nothing to Arceus

Greetings everyone, I've come to make a notice that I'm done with Nothing to Arceus. I made this decision nearly a month ago, perhaps a bit more. I'm burnt out by the work load of creating these chapters and though I am still passionate about the story itself, creating these chapters are exhausting and I've grown a passion for other projects.

I'm not going to leave you hanging however, I am creating a extended document giving a detailed summary and analysis on each chapter and all the story beats, including scrapped concepts and OSTs used (I like to listen to OSTs as I make scenes, I base the pacing of a scene around the OST i'm listening to). Look forward to that, but not any time soon as I have been procastinating on it and want to do other things. Eventually, I'll get around to finishing it and uploading, but as for any more content. Don't expect anything new soon.

But, in-case you just want to know the ending to NTA, I will provide a TLDR variant of the ending.

Chapter 15: Serena returns and by the end of the chapter, Daniel regains his memories

Chapter 16: Daniel spends the chapter wallowing in guilt and self-loathing. Serena learns about his trauma and understands his pain, leading to her confessing her love to him as they accept one another in a heart-felt kiss.

Chapter 17: Calem resurfaces, but he has has amnesia, not having much recollection of what happened a year prior. Daniel also has a nightmare about Bisharp getting killed which is chalked up to Daniel being insecure about his own strength and needs to rebuild his confidence. At the end of the chapter, Daniel manages to tap into 100% for the first time but very briefly but his confidence is back.

Chapter 18: Calem is very friendly is Daniel and Serena, understanding that they're a couple and chooses to be very friendly with Daniel considering they're both good friends of Serena. At the end of the chapter, Calem and Daniel go on a night walk together where Calem reveals that he is actually Engano and in a fit of rage, Daniel battles him only to have their battle stopped by their respective Gods. The gods understand that their rivalry must come to a end and for that to happen, they will have to have a battle to death and only one of them can walk away from it. They agree and the chapter ends.

Chapter 19: They are both allowed a week before the battle, preparing themselves however they can/desire until the fateful battle. The battle is broadcast around the world and without further ado, the two battle. At the end of the chapter, Daniel manages to gain full control of 100% and overpower Engano.

Chapter 20: After being overpowered, Engano reveals his trump card, thanking Daniel for showing him the transformation during the reflection caves arc and tapping into the transformed state Daniel entered when he was temporarily a destroyer. This form is significantly more powerful than Daniel and the teen gets overpowered. Bisharp refuses to watch on the sidelines and steps in realizing that Engano was cheating and breaking the rules of the engagement by siphoning power from Giratina. Deoxys, Andres & Typhlosion (The ladder two reappear several chapters earlier) all come to the rescue but they're all overpowered. Bisharp sacrifices himself to save Daniel, getting disintegrated to protect daniel from a powerful blast and only leaving behind his half of the Arceus Stone. Daniel is distraught but understands Bisharp had a reason for his sacrifice, and uses the opportunity to reunite the two halves of the Arceus Stone, becoming whole and tapping into its full power. Bisharp also infused the rest of his energy into the stone, as all of it merges into Daniel, the teen receives a powerup much-like the giratina stone. However, with Bisharp's energy, he dons armor similar in appearance to that of Bisharp's, becoming a true Dan-Bisharp and prepares to finish the fight.

Chapter 21: Daniel battles Engano and in the end, beats him, calling out Engano for being a false representative and undeserving of its power, removing the Giratina Stone from Calem and threatening to kill him. However, he stops before making contact with the man, refusing to stoop to his level and acknowledging that death would be a mercy for the man. After winning the battle, they're rushed to the hospital to discover Daniel's mother at the brink of death after watching the battle, the stress getting too much for her. His mother says her final words to her son and passes away, with the teen crying his eyes out and the chapter concludes.

Chapter 22 (finale): Daniel is distraught, traumatized after losing most of his family and left all alone, he is eventually confronted by both Giratina and Arceus who tells him he has to make a decision: Either give up being a representative to restore balance, or pass the giratina stone onto a worthy successor. Overwhelmed with making a decision. The ghost of Bisharp emerges to pass on his final words, encouraging Daniel to do whatever he pleases, and whatever decision he makes will be the right one. After saying their goodbyes, Daniel comes to a decision: not wanting anyone else to suffer the responsibility and pain he has endured, he chooses to take the mantle of both the Creator and the Destroyer. inheriting and merging both stones together. This will be his punishment and curse, but also his gift. He must now devote the rest of his life to his mission as the Representative of Life, but he's not alone. So long as he has the Arceus Stone, Bisharp will be with him as part of the Collective Conscious. And ofcourse, his lovely fiance, Serena, whom he marries at the age of 23.

Ending song: Line by Sukima Switch

This is the TLDR variant of the ending, I apologize for not being able to commit to finishing this project. But stopping this has lifted a massive weight off my shoulders and I feel much better not worrying about this fanfiction. I hope you've enjoyed this journey and thank you to the people that have stuck around.

Please leave a comment/review about the story and what you all think, but other than that. I will see you guys Next Time on Nothing to Arceus (The End)


	16. There's more

Nothing to Arceus: Part 3 (Temporary Name) In the works.

Nothing to Arceus is back (Aftermath will not be finished)


End file.
